Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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With World Kindness Day just two days away on November 13, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how empathy and care can make a real impact, not just in our relationships but in our health, too. This day is...
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Dutch national coach uses Phuket to target Olympic gold
PHUKET: The Dutch national swimming team recently returned to Phuket for the third time to stay and train at the Thanyapura sports center. Among them was Ranomi Kromowidjojo, 50m and 100m freestyle Olympic champion, looking to improve her stroke and secure Olympic victory at the 2016 Games in Rio. Yet, challenges lay ahead for the young Olympian, just 24 this…
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Phuket CCTV mass upgrade reaches final hurdle
PHUKET: Budget allocation for the proposed 238 million baht upgrade of CCTV cameras in Phuket has reached its final hurdle and now awaits approval by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong announced this week. Governor Nisit said he was “delighted” by the news. “This is one of my top priorities – to enhance security in Phuket,”…
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Final clearout of Phuket beach encroachers imminent, says governor
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong announced yesterday that the final traces of the ubiquitous encroachment onto Phuket beaches that prompted the beach cleanup last year would be swept away as soon as possible. The governor and other island officials. speaking at a press conference held at the Royal Thai Navy base in Cape Panwa, addressed the problem of several buildings still…
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German tourist drowns in Krabi rip current
PHUKET: A German tourist drowned in Krabi yesterday afternoon while swimming with his son. Martin Hofstetter, 57, and his family checked into a bungalow resort on Koh Siboya, south of Krabi Town, on Wednesday, explained Lt Col Kittichet Kittiratanasombat of the Klong Khanan Police. “They took a sea trip to Koh Lola and went swimming there yesterday afternoon,” Col Kittichet…
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Video Report: Phuket kids shine at PSS international soccer tourney
PHUKET: More than 250 players from throughout Southeast Asia joined the Phuket Soccer Schools (PSS) 5th International Youth Tournament at Thanyapura’s Stadium Pitch last weekend. Players in Under-8, Under-10, Under-12 and Under-14 age groups competed during 12 hours of football involving 28 teams over the two days. “This tournament brings together youth footballers from across Southeast Asia to share their…
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Video: One killed, three injured in Phuket multiple-vehicle crash
PHUKET: Police are blaming a new set of traffic lights for a high-speed crash that killed one motorcyclist and injured three others on Thepkrasattri Road this morning. Police arrived at the scene, at the old airport junction north of Blue Canyon Country Club, at about 11:45am to find a 10-wheeled truck and a van overturned on the shoulder of the…
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Russians behaving badly arrested in Phuket, face deportation
PHUKET: Immigration Police arrested two Russian men at Nai Harn Beach yesterday after complaints that the men were “behaving badly”, including stealing small items from local stores and failing to pay for meals in nearby restaurants. Officers arrested Mikael Morkretkof, 45, and Denis Rievsef, 32, as the pair were walking along Nai Harn Beach yesterday afternoon, explained Capt Nattapong Klaithong…
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All About Eva: Court probe opens door to new era for Phuket beachfront property projects
THAILAND stands on the brink of a great leap forward in boosting investor confidence in beachfront properties and resorts, if court officials uphold existing building regulations on construction of buildings along the Phuket shoreline. Here, the Phuket Gazette investigates what is at stake in enforcing the building code. SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: The environmental court inspection of an upscale real estate…
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Classic car rally takes the road to Mandalay
PHUKET: An ambitious endurance classic car rally from Singapore to Myanmar saw about a dozen of the more than 70 magnificent vehicles taking part in the ‘Road to Mandalay’ race complete time trials in Phuket on Sunday. This was enough to inspire the Phuket Gazette to send a TV crew of six on Monday to Khao Lak where the full…
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Activist children manage unprecedented blow to Taiji dolphin slaughter (video)
PHUKET: A letter presented by a group of children from Phuket’s Gecko School was accepted by the Taiji Major’s Office, which in the past has publicly supported the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins. “We will pass down the history of our ancestors to the next generation. Preserve it. We have a strong sense of pride about this,” Mayor Kazutaka…
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Phuket jet-ski operator banned after attempted shakedown
PHUKET: A jet-ski operator was banned today from running his rental business for one month following an incident in which he demanded two tourists to pay 200,000 baht for repairs to two uninsured jet-skis (story here). The Bang Tao jet-ski operator, Air Yotharuk, had his helmsman license suspended and his two jet-skis Yotharuk 1 and Yotharuk 2 banned by the…
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New beach rules now standard throughout Phuket, says Governor
PHUKET: The trial rule of restricting vendors to only 10 per cent of the beach is to be rolled out at all beaches in Phuket, Governor Nisit Jansomwong has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “Local administrations will remain responsible for regulating and enforcing the new rules [story here], which include no sun loungers at any beaches,” he added. “The local…
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Phuket fertility center to give birth to boost in medical tourism
PHUKET: IVF Phuket by the Safe Fertility Center is expected to boost tourist numbers, Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam said at the grand opening of the center’s new building on Sunday. “The prices at this qualified clinic are much cheaper than similar treatments outside of Thailand. Therefore, I am expecting the clinic to bring more tourists to the the island for…
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Phuket waste incinerator granted B530mn for repairs
PHUKET: A budget of 530 million baht to repair the defunct waste incinerator at the Phuket City Waste Management facility at Saphan Hin has been approved, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong announced this week. “Though Phuket has two incinerators, one has been offline for almost two years, leading us toward an inevitable crises by 2020, if nothing is done,” said Kasem…
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Phuket’s B23.5bn light rail inches toward Cabinet approval
PHUKET: The final plans for the long-awaited Phuket light-rail project, slated to cost 23.5 billion baht, will not be presented to Cabinet for approval until next year at the earliest, the Phuket Gazette has been told. “The plan itself is more than 90 per cent complete. However, experts need to make adjustments to match local Phuket residents’ needs,” Governor Nisit…
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Tuk-tuk driver punches Australian in face over fare
PHUKET: A tuk-tuk driver has confessed to punching an Australian national in the face after an argument about the price of a ride yesterday evening. “Mr Sipeng, 20, told us that he was punched by the tuk-tuk driver after he got into an altercation with him about the price of the ride from Sugar Palm Residence Condominium, where he lives,…
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Special envoy to Chinese president Xi Jinping visits Phuket
PHUKET: Meng Jianzhu, a Chinese senior politburo member, security official and special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, was in Phuket to pay a courtesy visit over the weekend. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong and Monrudee Gettuphan, acting general manager of Phuket International Airport, welcomed Mr Meng as he arrived at the airport on Saturday. Mr Meng, who currently holds the…
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Police hunt temple thief after B100k donation snatch
PHUKET: Police are searching for a man who is suspected of stealing more than 100,000 baht in cash from Tah Reua Temple, which houses Phuket’s top monk, Phra Visutthi Thamma-kanee. Officers were alerted to the theft at 10:30am yesterday. “Phra Visutthi Thamma-kanee said that he saw a man about 40 years old sitting in front of the monks’ dormitory at…
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Tourists dodge Phuket jet-ski scam shakedown
PHUKET: Negotiations and a police complaint have mostly thwarted an attempted shakedown by a Bang Tao jet-ski rental operator, who initially asked two Chinese tourists to pay 200,000 baht for repairs to two uninsured jet-skis. Six Chinese tourists hired four jet-skis at Bang Tao Beach on Saturday afternoon, explained Anusorn Salae, the former president of the Bang Tao Jet-ski Club.…
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Australian arrested in insurance fraud scam
PHUKET: An Australian teen failed in an attempted insurance fraud scam after Phuket police investigated his claim of being robbed at knifepoint on Karon Beach yesterday. Alex Gorgees, 19, from New South Wales, told Karon Police that he was robbed of cash and personal belongings valued at about 389,500 baht. “He said that three unknown men held him at knifepoint…
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Patong bar raided for baraku, hookahs
PHUKET: Kathu District officials raided a bar in Patong early Saturday morning for selling hookah tobacco and providing water pipes – a smoking style called baraku in Thailand – to customers, mainly tourists. Barkeeper and Myanmar national Tan Ser U was arrested in the raid of the Red Sky Bar on Sirirat Road at the southern end of Patong at…
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New police station near airport, more officers slated for Phuket
PHUKET: National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang has backed a new police station to be set up near Phuket International Airport, Region 8 Police Commander Decha Budnampeth told the Phuket Gazette today. Maj Gen Decha yesterday personally escorted Gen Somyot, who arrived in Phuket on Friday, to inspect several potential sites near the airport for the new police station. “I proposed…
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French expat survives savage hatchet attack
PHUKET: A French businessman was savagely attacked with a hatchet last night after arriving at his home in Cherng Talay yesterday. Eric Seigneurin, 53, who had just arrived home with his wife from their restaurant business, was attacked as he got out of his car at about 12:15am. “After Mr Seigneurin got out of his car, a man wearing a…
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Phuket Valentine’s Day event to offer new homes to hermit crabs
PHUKET: In an effort to inspire a love of nature, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) is organizing a Valentine’s Day event aimed at donating new shells for the humble hermit crab. Hermit crabs have soft, spiral-shaped abdomens which are vulnerable to predators. They protect themselves by salvaging the empty shells of other crustaceans and other objects, sadly sometimes…
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Russian tourist caught in Phuket cocaine bust
PHUKET: Police have arrested a Russian tourist for selling cocaine at a shopping center car park in southern Phuket after he tried to sell the drugs to an undercover police officer. Officers arrested Anton Rybak, 25, on Friday after a sting operation at the car park of the Makro store in Rawai, said Lt Col Kritsana Yardkham, senior inspector of…
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Village CC win over Patong CC lifts them off the bottom
PHUKET: Village CC secured their first win of the season last Sunday with a win over Patong CC to to move off the bottom of the senior league table. Village were looking for their first win of the season, whilst Patong in second place were looking to go top of the league. Patong won the toss and elected to bat.…
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Healthy newborn girl found beside Phuket trash can
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a healthy newborn girl found abandoned beside a trash can in front of a house in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, last night. Manit Limmanee had just left his house on his way to the local grocery store at about 7:30pm when he heard a baby crying. “At first, I thought it was a cat,…
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Power pole transformer suspected of setting house on fire
PHUKET: Police are investigating whether a power transformer sparked a blaze in Thung Thong late last night in which the front of a house was set afire, with a car and a motorbike damaged, and another motorbike completely destroyed. Firefighters were called to the scene, in the Irawadee housing estate, at about 11:50pm. They took about 30 minutes to douse…
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Phuket FC season opens in Trat
PHUKET: The island’s premier football club, Phuket FC, will open their 2015 campaign in the Yahama Division 1 national football league against Trat on Valentine’s Day, with the modest goal of surviving the hotly contested division. “It is challenging to have new players join the squad and getting the whole team playing well,” a realistic Songyod “Coach Daeng” Klinseesuk told…
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BIS youth soccer camp open to all
PHUKET: Time is running out to register for the 3rd BISP Football Camp, to be held on February 16-18. The deadline for entries is February 10. The camp offers boys and girls aged 10 to 18 specialized football training by BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy Head Coach Jonathas Candido and Strength & Conditioning Head Coach Christopher Gaffney. “Our focus is to…
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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