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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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Phuket takes precautionary measures after terrorist threats to US consulate in Chiang Mai
PHUKET: Phuket’s top cop has increased security measures across the island in the wake of Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung’s warning of possible Al-Qaeda and Salafist terrorists attacks on the United States consulate in Chiang Mai this month (story here). “Although the information gathered pointed to terrorist plans to target the United States consulate in Chiang Mai, we will not…
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Educational jellyfish signs erected on Phuket’s popular beaches
PHUKET: A collaborative effort between the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) and the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office has seen educational signs about jellyfish springing up on beaches across Phuket. “The signs are set up on popular beaches, not because there are many jellyfish in those areas, but because they have so many visitors,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Director…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: Celtic “hell”; Too much English; IOC moves surprises wrestling and Pakistan
Conte amazed to leave Celtic “hell” with handsome win Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Juventus coach Antonio Conte has suffered much in recent months but coming away from the “hell” of a noisy and fervent Celtic Park with a 3-0 win in their Champions League last 16 first leg felt like an enormous relief. The Italian champions, who again lead…
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Phuket migrant with hangover misses first day of work, drowns in abandoned tin mine
PHUKET: A man from Mukdahan province who had just found work in Phuket drowned in an abandoned tin mine in Chalong yesterday. Police received a report around noon that Kamdee Kammoon, 35, had gone missing after entering the water-filled old tin mine on Soi Na Yai in Chalong. “When we arrived we saw his jeans by the side of the…
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Phuket Pharmacy fined for illegally selling prescription drugs
PHUKET: A pharmacy in Chalong faced a lot of brass yesterday as Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak, Damrongtham Center (Ombudsman’s Office) chief Prapan Kanprasang, Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol and Phuket Public Health officers followed up on allegations that the store was illegally selling prescription drugs without a pharmacist on duty. “A local resident told our staff that the pharmacy was…
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Phuket prisoners don berets for scout training
PHUKET: A group of 60 male and female prisoners at Phuket Provincial Prison donned their green berets and picked up their red sticks (mai ngam) for the opening ceremony of a scout training course yesterday. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut chaired the opening ceremony of the first guide course running from February 11 to February 14. “It is part of the…
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Ireland’s Healy cited; Nadal wants time; Mancini and Lotus under pressure
Ireland’s Healy cited for stamp on England’s Cole Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ireland prop Cian Healy has been cited for stamping on England’s Dan Cole during a maul in the first half of their 12-6 Six Nations championship loss in Dublin on Sunday, tournament organizers said yesterday. Healy contravened Law 10.4 (b), which states that a player “must not…
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Phuket’s Wat Chalong Fair 2013 in full swing
PHUKET: The Wat Chalong Fair 2013, a 7-day extravaganza of performances, food, games and shopping, is now in full swing (map here). Each night starting at 7pm, fair-goers can enjoy performances by Thai country music (luk-thung) stars and traditional Southern Thai Nang Talung shadow puppeteers. The crowd of thousands on opening night enjoyed a performance by Jintara Poonlarb, and the…
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Blaze engulfs abandoned luxury hotel bordering Phuket National Park
PHUKET: Police suspect the fire that engulfed an abandoned luxury hotel near Nai Yang Beach in northern Phuket early this morning was started by thieves searching for copper wire. “The hotel, on the border of the Sirinath Marine National Park, was completely abandoned. Thieves most likely went onto the premises to salvage copper. We suspect they were attempting to burn…
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Oldest football club faces permanent relegation; Sports roundup
World waiting for Real v Man United clash, says Mourinho Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Real Madrid manager José Mourinho ran the rule over Manchester United yesterday before declaring that Wednesday’s Champions League clash between the sides was “the match the world is waiting for”. The last 16 first-leg game at the Bernabeu pits old adversaries Mourinho and Alex Ferguson…
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Attorney denies Norwegian man willed millions of baht to Phuket elderly, children
PHUKET: Police have not been able to find a will to substantiate rumors that a Norwegian man left a portion of his 100-million-baht estate to Phuket foundations for the elderly and for children. Frank Robert, 52, died on Saturday from pre-existing medical conditions, a Patong Hospital staffer told Patong Police. “I have talked to the attorney who will execute Mr…
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Live Wire – Putting the pieces together
PHUKET: In the past three editions of Live Wire, I’ve taken you through a detailed list of the internet packages currently available in Phuket and a description of what kinds of packages – “3G,” ADSL, Fiber, etc – most people will want. Last week I warned you about the truly awful experience one reader had with the new TOT 3G…
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Police catch Phuket gold thief using CCTV images
PHUKET: Phuket Police used CCTV images to track down and arrest a thief who snatched two gold necklaces from a woman driving her motorbike in Rassada. Nathawut Wannakoon, 22, was arrested at his home in Soi Imchit on Chao Fa Road (map here) by Phuket City Police on February 9 for the theft of the necklaces valued at 25,000 baht…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Rugby’s Six Nations update
English coaches in awe of young side’s maturity Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: England’s renaissance under coach Stuart Lancaster continued apace yesterday with a first Six Nations win in Ireland in a decade that left the coach and his staff almost in awe of their young side’s maturity. It was a first trip to a damp Dublin for many of…
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Phuket prepared for Chinese New Year
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has prepared an extravagant celebration to ring in the Year of the Water Snake with the arrival of the Chinese New Year tomorrow. The celebration is slated to kick off at Sanam Chai (across from Phuket City Hall, map here) at 4pm. “Acrobats from Henan, China will be performing as well as other…
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American tourist found dead in Phuket hotel
PHUKET: A 23-year-old American tourist was found dead in his Cherng Talay hotel room by staff after he failed to checkout at noon yesterday. Staff at the Resident Resort and Spa Retreat called Cherng Talay Police at about 10:30pm to report the death. “When we entered the room, we found the man face down on the bed,” Cherng Talay Police…
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PACC it all in, Phuket
PHUKET: This week’s exclusive lead story in the Phuket Gazette newspaper about the decision of the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) to shelve its investigation into encroachment cases here in Phuket comes as a disappointment – but not much of a surprise. Phuket has a long history of land probes, all of which are motivated by political forces. In the…
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Public sector Anti-Corruption Commission packs in Phuket land title investigations
PHUKET: The investigation by the Public sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) into allegedly illegally issued land titles covering more than 500 rai of land in Phuket has silently been dropped.The PACC, set up specifically to fight corruption among government officials, quietly dropped the probe into hundreds of Phuket land titles just days after Col Dusadee Arayawuth, who had initiated the investigation,…
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Rawai Municipality takes charge of one of many environmental issues plaguing Racha
PHUKET: The Rawai municipality was assigned to take charge of the mounting trash-disposal issues on Koh Racha Yai despite progressive local government talks yesterday with hotel and resort representatives about a conglomerate of environmental issues facing the once pristine island. “Though hotel and resort representatives agreed to take care of the trash-disposal problem themselves, I have assigned the Rawai Municipality…
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Phuket cement truck flips on late-night trip down Patong Hill
PHUKET: An out of control cement truck flipped at the bottom of Patong Hill last night, skidding on its side into a motorbike and two houses before coming to a halt about 50 meters away from Wat Suawan Kiriwong Patong on Phra Baramee Road (map here). No one was seriously injured. “It was about 1am last night, and I was…
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Phuket Provincial Transportation Office brokers breakthrough deal for taxis
PHUKET: A breakthrough arrangement with banks and insurance companies means that all taxi drivers in Phuket have until February 28 to become legally registered – or face a 2,000-baht fine every time they are caught carrying passengers.The deal, brokered through the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO), was announced at a meeting with illegal taxi drivers at the Amora Beach Resort…
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Police snap up “kratom’ grower in northern Phuket
PHUKET: Police in the northern Phuket area of Thalang yesterday raided and shut down a tropical fruit orchard that was also being used as a kratom-growing operation. The orchard owner, named by police as Nathee Tianthong,50, had five kratom trees growing on his property – in his house police found 400 grams of harvested leaves. All five trees were cut…
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Phuket City police bag druggy by using GPS tracker from stolen iPhone
PHUKET: Police quickly nabbed a Phuket druggy by using the GPS tracking feature of the iPhone he had stolen from a German tourist yesterday. The German tourist, David Trebs, was standing in front of the 99 Oldtown Boutique Guesthouse in Phuket Town at about 2am yesterday when a man on a motorbike drove by and snatched his iPhone, explained Lt…
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Phuket Soccer Schools and Thanyapura set for international tourney
PHUKET: The Phuket Soccer Schools (PSS) is hosting a 40-team international tournament this weekend at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC). Teams will compete in U8, U10, U12 and U14 age groups. The tournament has attracted teams from Hong Kong, Singapore, Koh Samui and Phuket. The opening ceremony starts at 8:30am on Saturday with the closing ceremony taking place on…
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Phuket migrant workers granted three-month deportation reprieve
PHUKET: Cabinet has passed a resolution allowing migrant workers in Phuket and across the Kingdom an additional three months to complete the nationality verification process, Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) chief Yawapa Pibulpol told the Phuket Gazette today. “According to Cabinet’s resolution, migrant workers’ deportation deadline has been extended until April 15,” Ms Yawapa said. “What action we will take…
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Thai Army helicopter makes safe emergency landing in Phuket
PHUKET: A rapid loss in oil pressure forced the pilots of a Royal Thai Army helicopter to make an emergency landing in a field in central Phuket yesterday.No injuries were reported in the incident.Thalang Police were alerted to the emergency landing by villagers in Baan Pru Champa.“The helicopter belongs to the 2nd Air Mobile Company in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. There…
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Rogue wheel in Phuket leaves Russian in ICU
PHUKET: A Russian biker remains unconscious in Bangkok Hospital Phuket’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after being knocked from his motorbike by a rogue wheel that flew off a 10-wheeled truck on Thepakasatrri Road yesterday. The Russian, named by police as Alexey Balabko, 26, was a riding a “big bike” when he was struck by one of two wheels that came…
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Phuket jet-ski operator nabbed, denies anchor attack
PHUKET: Police have apprehended the Phuket jet-ski operator who reportedly swung an anchor angrily at the head of a German tourist at Kata Beach on Monday (story here). Named only as “Mr Buntoon”, age 33, the operator was brought in for questioning by Karon Police yesterday. “He confessed that he run over the German man’s belongings with the jet-ski trailer…
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Phuket full-scale tsunami drill not to be announced in Russian
PHUKET: Phuket will hold its annual full-scale tsunami evacuation and marine rescue drill at Karon Beach on February 21, but the tsunami warning messages will not be played in Russian, the Phuket Gazette was told today. “The Ministry of Interior requires the six Andaman provinces in the tsunami hazard zone to hold a tsunami evacuation and marine rescue drill at…
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Party monk defrocked over drugs, sex romp in Phuket
PHUKET: A monk and two female friends having a sex party in a Patong hotel room were busted by police for drug use yesterday, and the monk was subsequently defrocked. After receiving a tip from local residents, police raided a hotel room at the southern end of Patong Beach. “We went to the location provided and found a monk and…
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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