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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Chinese New Year to usher in billion-baht boost for Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket is gearing up to welcome the Chinese New Year and up to one billion baht in revenue as tourists flock to the island for the holiday, says the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA). PTA vice president Bhurit Maswongsa told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that the January booking rate for Phuket hotels is about 90% and may rise to 100%…
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Dive site closure “will not affect tourism’: official
PHUKET: The immediate closure of many dive sites in seven marine national parks will not have a big impact on Phuket’s critical tourism industry, says at least one official. Malinee Jannoi, an officer at the Center for Tourism Development, Department of National Parks, today told the Phuket Gazette, “It will not affect tourism much as we’re not closing whole parks,…
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Phuket hotels help Australian flood victims
PHUKET: Hotels in Phuket are being urged to donate holiday packages to a benefit auction for the flood-stricken communities of Queensland, Australia. Regions of Australia’s northeast have been devastated by recent flash floods, with raging floodwaters inundating thousands of homes and businesses in one of the country’s worst natural disasters. Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) President Bhurit Maswongsa says Australians currently…
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Miss Phuket to be crowned tonight
PHUKET: Miss Phuket 2011 will be crowned tonight at the 3rd annual Phuket Local Food Festival. The festival, now in its second day, is being held at Saphan Hin park all weekend. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha opened the event, organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), last night. Entertainment at this year’s event includes a fashion show, jazz concert,…
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Phuket News: Soi Dog uses “firebreaks’ to stem distemper outbreak
PHUKET: Phuket animal welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) has resorted to establishing vaccination centers at strategic locations to stop canine distemper from spreading across the island. “Mobile teams, supported by volunteers continue to work around the clock and the situation is being closely monitored to deal with additional outbreaks quickly,” said SDF Director John Dalley. “Areas where distemper cases…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket bar owners protest at Provincial Hall
PHUKET: Over 200 bar operators from Kata, Karon, Chalong and Rawai are at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning protesting the recent government crackdown on closing times. A provincial task force under orders from the Ministry of Interior have been raiding Phuket bars to enforce closing times regulations. The protesters told the Phuket Gazette that the raids are driving away business.…
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Phuket crowd mobs DEA for “Most Wanted’ souvenirs
PHUKET: Tourists and workers along Soi Bangla last night pushed and shoved to get their hands on the latest craze: DEA ‘Most Wanted’ souvenirs. The free handout was held from 10 to 11pm, with hundreds of people scrambling to get beer coolers, T-shirts, pens, match boxes and computer mouse pads emblazoned with images of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s most…
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Phuket’s Tuptim survives marathon 18-hour surgery
PHUKET: Eight-month-old Tuptim Jadngooluem has been given a second chance at life after she successfully underwent surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok yesterday. Tuptim, who was diagnosed at three months with a terminal liver condition known as biliary obstruction, has spent over a month in hospital awaiting a parental donor liver transplant to save her life. To keep her baby…
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Phuket Reminder: QSI fun run on Saturday
PHUKET: The ninth annual QSI International School Phuket Fun Run will be held at Bang Wad Dam in Kathu on Saturday. Organizers expect more than 200 children and 50 adults to compete. Students from all schools in Phuket are welcome to take part and trophies will be awarded to the top three schools finishing on the highest points. All races…
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Phuket Airport director under investigation
PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport was transferred from his post yesterday amid a disciplinary investigation regarding a group of South American passengers who flew out of the airport without passports. Airports of Thailand (AoT) told the Phuket Gazette today that Prathuang Sornkham was been transferred during the investigation and will become a “Senior Specialist 10” AoT executive. AoT…
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Phuket market vendors outraged by fake cop shake down
PHUKET: Vendors at the Banzaan Market behind Jungceylon massed at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to file a complaint over police handling of an extortion attempt.The vendors handed Vice-Governor Weerawat Janpen a letter saying that at about 5pm on Monday two men claiming to be police officers demanded cash from them. The men, both described as tall and dark skinned,…
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Phuket jam: Patong motorists stuck in first gear
PHUKET: The new one-way traffic flow in Patong has caused havoc for some Phuket motorists. Traffic jams have been reported at several junctions that were affected by the change. “[To] those who thought the old way was crazy just because it allowed two-way traffic on too many east-west cross roads, check out how smooth traffic now flows at the northern…
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Phuket caddie killers behind bars
PHUKET: Four people have been arrested for last month’s shooting murder of a Phuket golf caddie. Ms Amornrat Petchtrong, 26, was killed by a single gunshot to the head outside Mission Hills golf club in the early hours of December 7. Four suspects, Ms Prathum Chumrat, Mr Paisan Preecha, Mr Pongsak Boorana and a 17-year-old boy, were presented at a…
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Phuket marine center moves to save bleached coral
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) will today request that parts of the Similan and Surin national parks be closed to protect dying corals there. DMCR Director-General Kasemssan Jinnawaso announced yesterday that his department would file the request with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation Department, which manages the national parks. “We will request closure of…
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FC Phuket scores Thai star as manager
PHUKET: Former Thai national team star Surachai Jirasirichote today stepped into his new role as manager of FC Phuket. Surachai, 40, is a former national team defensive stalwart with over 50 caps and two goals for his country. He takes over the reins of FC Phuket (also known as the “Southern Sea Kirin”) from former boss Arjharn Songngamsap, who stepped…
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New Patong one-way system now in place
PHUKET: Police launched the new one-way traffic system in Patong on Saturday, with one change from the original plan: Soi Ruamjai is now one-way heading toward the beach, not one-way away from the beach. Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao explained to the Phuket Gazette that having the road heading away from the beach caused traffic jams on Prachanukroh Rd at…
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Confessed Apple, Nokia pirate back on Phuket streets
PHUKET: A man who has confessed to charges of selling fake brand-name mobile phones, including imitation Nokia and Apple devices, is back on the streets of Phuket after posting bail yesterday. Led by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Superintendent Komol Wattaraporn, police yesterday presented suspect Thanapon “Oh” Lertaen to the media at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station. On…
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POLL: Phuket readers in standoff over police checkpoints
PHUKET: Despite this year’s new year holiday road toll being only half that of last year, Phuket Gazette readers are not convinced that the extra police road checkpoints during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign actually made Phuket roads safer. Readers were asked: “Four people died on Phuket roads during the recently-completed Seven Days of Danger road safety…
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Phuket hero lawyer in apparent suicide
PHUKET: A lawyer who specialized in defending poor villagers in land rights cases has been found dead in an apparent case of suicide.The body of Supachai Singjan, 54, was found hanging by the neck from a door in his apartment in Rassada sub-district yesterday.Mr Supachai apparently tied a bedsheet to his neck, looped it over the door and bent his…
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Special Report: Phuket sea gypsies fight for their rights
PHUKET: More than 70 representatives from 30 sea gypsy communities across the six Andaman provinces met officials in Phuket earlier this week to voice grievances and defend their way of life. The meeting, at Phuket Community Hall followed the arrest and release of 17 sea gypsy fishermen of the Pramongkit clan arrested in late December for fishing inside Had Jao…
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Phuket yellow shirts in wild show of patriotism over Cambodia
PHUKET: About 30 local yellow-shirt activists yesterday put on a show in the center of Phuket Town mocking the Thai government’s handling of the recent arrest and trial of seven Thais by the Cambodian authorities. The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members also denounced Cambodian premier Hun Sen, claiming the Thais were arrested on land that belongs to Thailand. The…
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Phuket Andaman Airshow dazzles the crowds at Phuket Airpark
PHUKET: The Phuket Andaman Airshow and Fly-In returned yesterday to Phuket Airpark, with a crowd of roughly 400 spectators and private aircraft from all over Southeast Asia. This year’s event, which celebrated the extension of the Airpark’s runway to 800 neters, had some special bonuses, including a heart-pounding show of aerobatics, an equally exciting appearance 14 bikini-clad competitors for the…
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Phuket pitches for Slovakia
PHUKET: Tourists on Patong Beach received a midday surprise yesterday when the 12 finalists in the Miss Slovakia beauty pageant arrived to try parasailing. The bevy of beauties are in Phuket to film a promotional video to be screened on TV in their home country during the final round of the Miss Slovakia contest. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the southern…
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Phuket’s Kamala Festival kicks off
PHUKET: The Kamala Festival 2011 began last night, marking the start of three days of free entertainment at Kamala Public Park. The event began with a sunset parade by Phuket FantaSea, from its showgrounds to Kamala Beach. Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirat officiated at the opening of the event, before the live entertainment began on stage. First up was a show…
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Phuket surf claims two lives in one day
PHUKET: The drowning deaths of two tourists at Karon Beach earlier today has prompted another warning from Phuket lifeguards to foreigners about entering the surf when red warning flags are flying. On a day of unseasonably high tides on Phuket’s west coast, two men lost their lives while another man remains in serious condition at Phuket International Hospital. Erik Larsen,…
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Brit gang-rape report sparks Phuket police warning
PHUKET: Following reports of a 23-year-old British woman being gang raped near Patong, police are urging young women to exercise caution while on holiday in Phuket. Patong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao today told the Phuket Gazette, “It is hard to prevent this kind of situation from happening. Sometimes tourists let their guard down to strangers. Tourists should be careful and…
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Raid in Rawai: Phuket bar crackdown continues
PHUKET: Five popular nightspots in Rawai had some unexpected guests early this morning when a provincial security task force arrived to enforce closing times. The crackdown is part of an island-wide effort ordered by the Interior Ministry. It follows the December 27 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senniam and the operators of nightspots…
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Get ready for the weekend in Phuket
PHUKET: The latest edition of the Phuket Gazette is on sale now. Pick up a copy of Phuket’s most popular local newspaper for lots of interesting articles not available online, including: NEWS – Upcoming MICE event to be largest ever held on the island. – Efforts to secure UN World Heritage status for Phuket Town buildings. – Sea gypsies fight…
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Phuket Red Cross draw blesses the lucky
PHUKET: Atiphon “Tu” Wongmaha, the human resources manager at the Blue Marine Resort & Spa in Kalim, has won the top prize in the annual Phuket Red Cross Fair lucky draw: a townhouse valued at 2.5 million baht. The two-storey townhouse in the Phanason Villa housing estate at Bor Rae in Wichit covers 21 square wah. The 37-year-old Rayong native…
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Phuket Governor launches night venue crackdown
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has warned entertainment venues to abide by the law – or suffer the consequences. The warning from Governor Tri Augkaradacha comes after officers from the Phuket Provincial Office and Muang District Office teamed up to raid popular nightspots across the district last week. Muang District covers Phuket Town and surrounding sub-districts, running all the way south…
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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