Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Investors target Phuket as tuna-industry hub
PHUKET: In a move that would more than double Phuket’s tuna-fishing fleet – already the third largest in Asia – a delegation of Taiwanese investors are looking to set up an operations center in Phuket to take advantage of increased tuna stocks in the Andaman Sea. The delegation of executives from Singapore-based Seaspire International floated the idea yesterday at a…
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New Phuket school library opens
PHUKET: Baan Tungkha School in Rassada has opened a library on its grounds for students and locals alike. Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen presided over the opening ceremony of the 600,000-baht facility, one of the few of its kind on the island. School director Wilas Parinyaniyom explained, “Our school committee wanted to gather secondhand books and computers and make them available…
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Chinese dive tourist recovering in Phuket hospital
PHUKET: The young Chinese diver airlifted from the Surin Islands to Phuket yesterday is conscious, speaking and able to eat, doctors said today. Zouxin Jie, 26, was early yesterday afternoon airlifted from the Surin Island National Park by a Thai Navy helicopter to Phuket, where she was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital. Dr Weerawat Yorsaengrat, deputy director of Vachira Phuket…
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Phuket braces for Children’s Day
PHUKET: Phuket will be abuzz with activity tomorrow as kids celebrate Children’s Day across the island. Free activities for children will be available at the following times and locations: Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukhaban will open events at Loma Park at 8:30am. Activities involve games and performances, a bicycle giveaway and a scholarship handover ceremony for about 5,000 lucky recipients.…
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Phuket holiday death toll halved
PHUKET: The death toll in Phuket during the new year ‘Seven Days of Danger’ national road safety campaign, which ended on January 4, remained at four – half of last year’s figure. The number is well under this year’s theoretical “target toll” of 7.6, which the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) bases on a 5% reduction in fatalities…
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“Phuket proud to host PIMEX’: V/Gov
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today officially opened PIMEX 2011 with resounding praise. “Phuket is very proud to host such an international event. It is the only event of its kind in Thailand,” he told the crowd gathered at Royal Phuket Marina. “Phuket is becoming Southeast Asia’s focal point for international-standard tourism and the marine industry. International investment in…
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Chinese tourist airlifted to Phuket
PHUKET: A Chinese woman is fighting for her life at Vachira Phuket Hospital after a dramatic airlift rescue from Surin Island National Park this afternoon. Lt Cdr Somsak Boonkam of the Naval Air Section, Third Area Command (NASTAC), told the Phuket Gazette that he was among the five rescuers dispatched on the mission. “At about noon we received radio orders…
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Locals fight to preserve Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: Out of fear of losing their community and way of life to “selfish people” allegedly encroaching on protected mangrove forests, Pa Khlok villagers submitted a formal complaint to the Phuket governor yesterday. About 20 villagers, led by chief Cha-euan Hemhong and community leader “Uncle” Jurun Ratchapol, handed the letter to Gov Tri Augkaradacha requesting immediate investigation into the matter.…
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Wanted: Phuket scam artists impersonating Governor
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a group of scam artists wanted for impersonating the Phuket governor to solicit donations for an imaginary provincial development campaign. In a meeting yesterday afternoon, Gov Tri Augkaradacha warned people not to fall victim to the scam. The scammers have been calling both government offices and private businesses asking for donations, typically from 30,000 to…
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Phuket landmark Mom Tri’s Boathouse sold
PHUKET: The owners of the Trisara resort have announced an agreement to buy Mom Tri’s Boathouse, the long-established resort and restaurant complex on the beach in Kata. The Boathouse issued a statement yesterday that Narong Pattamasaevi, Executive Chairman of the Three Dolphins group that owns and operates Trisara, has signed contracts to acquire 100% of shares in The Boathouse Inn…
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Phuket foreign property sales to grow 25% this year
PHUKET: Real estate sales to foreigners in Phuket are expected to grow 25 per cent this year to 5 billion baht, according to property development firm Seacon. Nevertheless, sales are likely to remain at least 50 per cent lower than during the boom years of 2006 and 2007, when foreign sales came in at 10 to 12bn baht each year.…
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Phuket’s PIMEX on track for another record year
PHUKET: The Phuket International Boat Show, PIMEX 2011, is set for yet another record-breaking year, organizers say. The annual international event gets underway tomorrow at Royal Phuket Marina and runs through Sunday, January 9. “PIMEX 2011 is really shaping up to set a new benchmark this year,” said Andy Dowden, Show Director of Informa Yacht Group. “The event has attracted…
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All change at FC Phuket
PHUKET: The dust may have barely settled on FC Phuket’s dramatic promotion to Thai League Division 1 last month, but it appears the honeymoon may well be over. It will be all change at Sarakul Stadium when the new season kicks off on February 12 as it has been confirmed that last season’s manager Arjan Songsamssub will not take charge…
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Tourists get more Phuket beachfront parking
PHUKET: The new parking zones along Thaweewong Road (the beach road) in Patong have finally been unveiled, allowing more room for tourists to park along the beachfront. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Thursday officially opened the new zones, heralded as the first in a series of steps to solve the tourist town’s traffic and parking woes. The changes make about…
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Phuket holiday death toll reaches four
PHUKET: A young man killed in a hit-and-run accident is the fourth road fatality recorded in Phuket during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, now in its final day throughout Thailand. The victim, 21-year-old Chalong resident Anek Karnchonchai, died after his motorbike crashed near Baan Kata School on Patak Road in Karon at about 6am today. According to…
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Skills shortage hampers Phuket MICE market
PHUKET: Human resources shortages may be stunting the growth of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand. Universities and other educational institutions are being engaged to tackle the problem. Akapol Sorasuchart, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), says that MICE is a rapidly growing sector in the Thai tourism industry,…
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Rino makes speedy recovery
PHUKET: Rino Mangon Vogt, a 10-year-old boy who has undergone life-saving surgery, is recovering well, the Phuket Gazette confirmed today. Rino, who suffered from the rare congenital heart condition Ebstein’s anomaly, underwent corrective surgery on November 21. However, when the external pacemaker was switched off days later, young Rino fell asleep, indicating that his heart could not cope unassisted. Quick…
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Cooking oil rations hit Phuket
PHUKET: Retailers throughout Thailand have begun rationing the sale of bottled palm oil in a move to curb seasonal shortages. Big C, on the bypass road, is limiting bottles of cooking oil to two per customer, while The Nation reports that Tesco Lotus is limiting sales to one bottle of palm oil per customer nationwide. Mr Pramarn Urawan, a researcher…
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First Phuket road fatality for the year
PHUKET: A motorbike rider without a helmet has been reported as the first Phuket road fatality of the New Year. The body of Uthai Maikhong, 33, was found beside his bike in a three-meter-deep roadside drainage ditch in front of Wat Muang Mai in Thalang about 8am yesterday. Local residents heard an accident about 7pm the night before, but in…
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Phuket ushers in 2011
PHUKET: About 1,000 people from across Phuket joined an alms-giving ceremony in Phuket Town this morning to offer food to 229 Buddhist monks to welcome the new year of 2011. Leading the proceedings at Queen Sirikit Park was Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana together with Phuket’s three Vice Governors: Nivit Aroonrat, Weerawat Janpen and Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak. The three Vice Governors…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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