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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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Youth dinghy racers lead the way
PHUKET: Promising young Thai sailors took to the waters in Optimist and Laser dinghies to mark the first competitive class racing action under the umbrella of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, in the 5th Phuket Dinghy Series. Twelve back-to-back races ran in front of the Sailing Club at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, on…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta shows appreciation to sponsors with grand opening ceremony
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee, led by its president, Kevin Whitcraft, hosted the official opening ceremony of the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday. The event was held at Kata Beach Resort & Spa, the spiritual home of Asia’s classic race, and was attended by VIPs, media guests and hundreds of sailors from around the world. Joining…
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Thai veteran wins King’s Cup golf tourney for record 18th title
PHUKET: Thaworn Wiratchant crafted his way to the best birdie putt of the year to beat India’s Anirban Lahiri for his long-awaited King’s Cup title and a record 18th Asian Tour victory at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Course yesterday. A stroke ahead of the current No 2 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking, the 47-year-old Thai…
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Here they come! Big guns line up for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi-Fi and Frank Pong’s Jelik, both out of Hong Kong, are lined up to go head to head in the leading racing division of the King’s Cup Regatta 2014, which begins in earnest on Monday. Looking to cause an upset are Karl Kwok’s Team Beau Geste and Ahern, Bailey, Wilmer’s Oi!, both from Australia. Fellow Aussie Ray…
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Land-grab probe off Phuket mired in claims
PHUKET: A team of police officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) arrived on Koh Naka, off the east coast of Phuket, yesterday to investigate a complaint of illegal encroachment on public land. However, the officers, led by Lt Col Sutthinan Kongchamdee, found themselves amid a confounding spat over private land leased out by the same…
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From Sweden with love: Cyclists on final stretch to Phuket tsunami orphanage
PHUKET: A group of cyclists raising funds for a post-tsunami orphanage are on the final stretch toward Phuket after having departed Sweden in March. Calle Wollgard and his team have already conquered 18 countries (including Iran), almost 16,000 kilometers of questionable roads, insane traffic, mountain passes, visa issues and countless other unexpected setbacks that lurk within the pages of an…
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Phuket beach club to be demolished
PHUKET: The owners of five businesses at Nai Yang Beach have been given just 11 days to pull down their buildings – or else have the might of a military-backed demolition team do it for them. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak issued the deadline at a meeting on Thursday, when he explained that the Court of Appeal had dismissed the…
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Phuket Highways Office to target illegal roadside advertising
PHUKET: The growing number of unsightly roadside advertising signs illegally erected on government land will be pulled down, confirmed a Phuket official today. The news flies in the face of reports that all billboards along Phuket’s roadsides will be pulled down. “I have already discussed the problem of haphazardly erected signs beside Phuket’s roads with Governor Nisit Jansomwong,” Samak Luedwonghad,…
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Navy backs Patong jet-ski plan as model for Phuket
PHUKET: Patong’s management system for jet-skis will be the model for the rest of Phuket, the Royal Thai Navy announced yesterday. “Zones separating swimmers from jet-skis will be applied in Patong first, and then at other beaches on the island,” said Vice Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command. “The order has already been signed…
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Phuket King’s Cup: The countdown is on (video)
PHUKET: The countdown to the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2014 is on, with official sail measurement for boats entering the annual beginning this morning. A total of 150 boats from 40 countries are registered to take part in the annual regatta, which will begin off Kata Beach on Monday and conclude on December 6. Competing sailors come from the USA,…
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Navy approves umbrellas for Phuket beaches
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy yesterday granted permission for tourists to bring umbrellas to Phuket beaches. The move comes after weeks of pressure from local business owners, foreign governments and tourists themselves. “I am aware that tourists were not allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach. However, this is no longer the case,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara…
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Phuket sailors head for Platu Trans World Invitational
PHUKET: Fresh from his team’s 2014 Platu One Design Championship victory, Kingdom Property helmsman Scott Duncanson has announced his intention to compete in the Platu Trans World Invitational. Held from March 18-22 out of the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya, up to 20 crews will compete for the internationally recognized trophy. Five European teams have entered, including current world…
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Video Report: Dutch diplomat poses tough questions to Phuket Governor
PHUKET: The Dutch Ambassador to Thailand posed some tough questions during a visit with the new governor yesterday, honing in on the island’s biggest problems and the future of Phuket’s tourism sector. Due to numerous complaints that have streamed in to the Embassy from Dutch tourists visiting the island recently, Ambassador Joan Boer focused mainly on the high cost of…
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Testing reveals “female’ body washed up on Surin Beach is male
PHUKET: The unidentified body initially reported to be that of a woman found washed up on Surin Beach in September has turned out to be that of a man, police revealed to the Phuket Gazette today. “DNA testing has now confirmed that this is the body of a man – not a woman,” Lt Jeerasak Sungwisut of the Cherng Talay…
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Challenge Laguna Phuket ready to break records (video)
PHUKET: A record 900 participants have registered to take part in the second annual Challenge Laguna Phuket triathlon on Sunday. The event’s inaugural edition launched last year with 602 entrants signing up to complete the 1.9 kilometer swim, 90km bike ride and 21km run. The Challenge Laguna Phuket triathlon will bring to a close the iconic week-long “Challenge Laguna Phuket…
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Australian cricketer Hughes dies after being hit by ball
PHUKET: Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died in a Sydney hospital on Thursday, two days after being struck by a ball that led to a “catastrophic” injury which caused “massive” bleeding to his brain and ultimately proved fatal. The international batsman was struck on the neck by a short-pitched delivery when batting in a domestic match on Tuesday, with the force…
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Phuket yachts wrap up race series with plain sailing
PHUKET: After the stormy conditions last Saturday, sunny skies and mild conditions greeted the competitors on the Sunday for the Ao Chalong Yacht Club’s (ACYC) Race Series 2 final race day. The final placings came down to who was the most consistent and which boats turned up regularly – persistence and commitment count, helped along for the first time this…
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Phuket’s new vice governors to arrive on Monday
PHUKET: Two senior officials will arrive in Phuket on Monday to start their new roles as vice governors, providing Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong with his full complement of three deputies. According to the official order published by the Ministry of Interior, Phuket’s new vice governors are Suthee Thongyam and Pranrob Singhasanee. Mr Suthee was promoted from his post as Provincial…
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Phuket truck driver charged over fatal motorbike collision
PHUKET: A helmet-less Phuket motorbike passenger was killed in an accident on Thepkrasattri Road this morning. Lt Col Sanit Nukong of the Thalang Police was called to the scene, in a northbound lane near the Baan Muang Mai u-turn, at about 10am. In the middle of the road, he found Wirat Sironghoi, 45, gripped with grief, leaning over the body…
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Key Phuket vice governor ordered to post near Bangkok
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, 52, today confirmed that he has been ordered to take the post of vice governor in Nakhon Pathom province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, effective December 1. “I have no regret leaving Phuket. I did all my best during my time here,” Vice Governor Chamroen told the Phuket Gazette today. “I will miss Phuket.…
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Gone in 60 seconds: Prolific Phuket motorbike thieves busted
PHUKET: It took a gang of motorbike thieves operating in Phuket less than one minute to make off with a single bike, a process which the criminals admitted to repeating hundreds of times. The revelation comes as police netted four members of a group operating on the island that has managed to ride off with more than 200 motorbikes over…
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Illegal croc north of Phuket lands owner in hot water
PHUKET: An elephant camp owner will be charged only for the illegal ownership of a crocodile after confessing to police that he had also recently possessed a gibbon that died a few months ago. A complaint was filed to a variety of departments about the Khao Lak Elephant Camp, based north of Phuket, which tourists claimed tortured a gibbon and…
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Fears surge over Phuket sea gypsy child prostitution
PHUKET: After being contacted by the Phuket Gazette today, local officials and community leaders are taking action over fears that children and teens at the sea gypsy village in Rawai are entering a downward spiral of drugs and prostitution, with girls as young as 10 reportedly offering sexual services to adults. Rawai sea gypsy community leader Ngeem Damrongkaset, 69, told…
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Scores arrested in Beach Games crime crackdown
PHUKET: An island-wide crime sweep during the Asian Beach Games resulted in more than 150 arrests and turned up scores of weapons, illegal drugs and counterfeit items, Phuket’s top cop revealed yesterday. “We must maintain Phuket’s good image and uphold the policies of the Royal Thai Police. It is our job to keep everyone safe and to prevent crime,” Phuket…
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Phuket beach vendors fear police investigation
PHUKET: More than 100 out-of-work beach vendors gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday to file a complaint with the governor regarding a land encroachment investigation by the Karon Police. The vendors presented the letter to Governor Nisit Jansomwong – along with a letter from the Ministry of Interior, dated January 3, 2005, that gave permission for people to operate businesses…
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Video Report: Laguna Phuket Triathlon marks historic victory
PHUKET: Italians Massimo Cigana and Alberto Casadei made history together at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) yesterday as they crossed the finish line as one and became LPT’s first dual champions in the annual event’s 21-year history. Cigana, who won in 2008, 2010 and 2011, also became the triathlon’s first four-time champion, and once again carved his name into the…
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Coral poachers pounce on Phi Phi, south of Phuket
PHUKET: Residents and tourists must immediately report any signs of coral poaching to officials, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 5 Chief Tanet Munnoy told the Phuket Gazette on Saturday. “Quick action is necessary to clamp down on corals being stolen from marine national parks, because the criminals behind the work move rapidly,” Mr Tanet said. “They have…
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Illegal beach vendors not operating on Phuket, says official
PHUKET: Vendors have not resumed operations on public-beach land confirmed the president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) to the Phuket Gazette today. A national news story yesterday reported that a group of defiant beach vendors, including restaurant operators and masseuses, had returned to the sands of Cherng Talay to re-start their businesses for the yearly influx of…
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Deep South Army officer found dead in Phuket pond
PHUKET: Police will conduct an autopsy on the body of a Deep South Army officer whose remains were found in a Phuket pond yesterday. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, behind Rock Garden Village in Rassada, at about 3:45pm, where the body of Sgt Jassada Suton, 31, was found. Sgt Jassada was stationed with the…
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Thailand crowned Asian Beach Games champions
PHUKET: Thailand closed the final day of the 4th Asian Beach Games in Phuket yesterday with two more gold medals in the beach sepak takraw to be crowned official Games champions for the second time with a haul of 56 gold, 37 silver and 33 bronze medals. Defending champions China placed second overall, with 16 gold, 11 silver and 21…
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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