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 prepared for Indian weddings in 2012
PHUKET: The island is prepared to host a number of lavish wedding ceremonies for Indian couples tying the knot in 2012, with top Phuket officials offering their help to smooth the way for wedding parties. Among those planning to hold ceremonies were the parents of one couple who met with Phuket Governor and head of the local Tourism Authority of…
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Phuket tourists dive in to help Methee’s grieving parents
PHUKET: A man who has asked to remain anonymous has contacted the Phuket Gazette in response to the story covering the unfortunate death of Methee Khunsuinhu, who died as a result of a drowning accident at a lagoon near Nai Harn Beach on New Year’s Day. The man, a foreigner who lives and works in Phuket, expressed his deep condolences…
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Phuket Sports: Tuffers at the Village tonight
PHUKET: Former England cricket international and TV personality, Phil Tufnell will spend an evening with Phuket cricket enthusiasts and VIP guests at The Village Coconut Island tonight. Absolute World have organized an informal BBQ and drinks event where Phil will share anecdotes of his outstanding cricket career and experiences of winning the popular reality TV show “I’m A Celebrity, Get…
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Swede NATO officer dies in Phuket crash
PHUKET: A 48-year-old Swedish man who reportedly worked for NATO died in a motorbike accident on Phuket’s west coast early this morning. Pol Capt Somnerk Dumkewa of Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette that his officers received a call reporting the accident at about 2:30am. At the scene, on the street leading to the Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), officers…
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Phuket’s Seven Days of Danger claims six lives
PHUKET: The final toll for the “Seven Days of Danger” road safety campaign in Phuket is six dead and 80 injured in 75 reported accidents, all higher than last year’s figures. The final day of the campaign yesterday saw 10 people injured in nine reported accidents, none involving foreigners. During the 2010-2011 New Year campaign four people died and 74…
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FC Phuket fans say cheers for lifting the ban
PHUKET: FC Phuket fans will be allowed to cheer during the team’s final home match of the season on Saturday evening against Bangkok FC, the club’s secretary has confirmed today. The latest development comes after an unprecedented ruling by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) that the club’s final home match could be played at Surakul Stadium on the condition…
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Six charged for Phuket resort GM stabbing; Hollywood actor Renner caught in brawl
PHUKET: Six staff of the Rachada Pub in Phuket Town have been charged with attempted murder for the stabbing of Sri Panwa Resort General Manager Vorasit Issara early yesterday morning.In his first major press conference since taking up his position as Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent last week, Maj Gen Chonasit Wattanavrangku this morning presented the suspects to the press as:…
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Phuket Live Wire: Don’t lose that number
PHUKET: In the past few Live Wire columns I’ve tried to answer some of the questions I hear frequently about computers, phones, tablets and TVs in Phuket. Here’s the next common question – and, surprise, it has a good solution. “Woody, I want to get a 3G phone (or I want to get 3G service on my current phone), but…
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Phuket resort GM ‘safe’ after stabbing attack
PHUKET: The well-known general manager of a luxury resort in Phuket is out of danger following emergency surgery for stab wounds sustained in a brawl outside a Phuket Town nightclub early yesterday morning. The victim, 30-year-old Vorasit “Plawan” Issara, was stabbed twice in the abdomen outside the Rachada Pub in the Phun Pol area of Phuket Town at about 4am…
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Foreigner saves drowning toddler at Phuket beach
PHUKET: Just a day after 7-year-old drowning victim Methee Khunsuinhu succumbed to injuries and passed away at Vachira Phuket Hospital, quick action by a foreign tourist today spared a toddler of a similar fate at the same beach. Pawanrat Suetrong, age one year and seven months, was on a family outing to the swimming lagoon near Nai Harn Beach this…
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TAT calls Phuket businesses to tourism trade show
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting tourism-related businesses in Phuket and throughout the region to take part in its Thailand Travel Mart 2012 (TTM 2012), to be held June 6 to 8 at Impact Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Center in Nonthaburi. TTM 2012 will feature products and services related to eco-tourism, golf, health and wellness, and weddings…
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FC Phuket to play at Surakul on Saturday, but no cheering allowed
PHUKET: An appeal by FC Phuket to be allowed to play their last home match of the season at Surakul Stadium has been approved by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), but only under the bizarre proviso that home-side fans not be allowed to cheer their team in any way. “Fans will only be allowed to sit still. There can…
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Best of Phuket Awards announced on line today
PHUKET: The 29 winners of Phuket’s 2011 ‘Best of Phuket’ Awards in the Business, Service, Environment and Restaurant categories have been announced and go on line today. The winners (4) in the ‘Person of the Year’ category were announced in the Gazette Online on Sunday. They won for their hard work and success over many years with the iconic Phuket…
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Marriott, Destination part ways over Courtyard brand in Phuket
PHUKET: Marriott International and Destination Properties Thailand have parted ways over the management of four hotels in Thailand, three of which are in Phuket.The properties in Phuket are the Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Patong, Kamala and at Surin Beach. The fourth hotel to no longer operate as a Marriott brand is the Courtyard by Marriott in Hua Hin.Another international…
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Phuket records second day without death on the roads
PHUKET: Today marks the last day of the “Seven Days of Danger” holiday road-safety campaign. No fatalities were recorded in Phuket yesterday, Day 6 of the campaign, with the number of fatalities standing at six. According to official figures from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket Office (DDPM-Phuket) this morning, Day 6 ended with nine serious injuries in…
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Work on Central Phuket underpass to start this year
PHUKET: Pheu Thai MP and former Finance Minister Suchart Thadathamrongvech today announced that work on the much-debated underpass at the Darasamut Intersection (also known as the Central Festival Intersection) will start this year. The news was announced this afternoon at a public meeting at the Phuket Community Hall, near Phuket Provincial Hall, in Phuket Town. Sriyada Palimaphan, Secretary to the…
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FC Phuket to appeal home match ban
PHUKET: FC Phuket has filed an appeal with the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), asking that it be allowed to play its final home match of the season at Surakul Stadium on January 7, as originally scheduled. FC Phuket secretary Soranan Sanae said the appeal follows a ruling by the FAT board that the team lose its right to host…
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Phuket Tourism 2011: “It was what it was’
SPECIAL YEAR-END REVIEW A look back at the roller-coaster ride that Phuket’s tourism industry took from start to finish in 2011.PHUKET: The past year was marked by an ever faster and more furious flow of information on the crest of a digital technology wave. Tuk-tuk drivers beating tourists, bus crashes, landslides on the only road over Patong Hill, and the…
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Bob Dwyer to hold Phuket rugby clinic
PHUKET: Phuket Rugby in conjunction with Strategic Sports are proud to present the first of three rugby coaching clinics to be held in Phuket this year. The clinics are to be run by World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer and Mike Penistone of Bob Dwyer’s Rugby Workshops. The first of the courses will be held from March 9 to 11,…
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Buakaw wows Phuket’s Muay Thai fans
PHUKET: Muay Thai fans gathered at Patong Boxing Stadium for a special performance of the ancient martial art by Thailand’s number one fighter, Buakaw Por Pramuk. Buakaw exhibited a range of techniques with his sparring partners, Kaolanlek Kaovichit and Paosee Kaovichit. They performed ritual dancing to pay respects to the Muay Thai guardian (Wai Kru) which was followed by an…
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ACG official opening dates announced
PHUKET: Dates for the official opening of Phuket’s first dedicated cricket facility, the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), have been announced with a two-day event scheduled for January 28 and 29, 2012. The ACG has already hosted a number of international touring teams in celebration of the ground’s establishment, including the prestigious Singapore Cricket Club who played in Phuket at the…
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Phuket Cricket: The South will have to rise again
PHUKET: Cricket’s stronghold of Southern Hemisphere (SH) representatives on Phuket had their Christmas celebrations cut short after a sound thrashing from their Northern Hemisphere (NH) counterparts at the ACG on Boxing day. In a 40 over seasonal special, the batting of Seemant Raju and Rishi Sadarangani proved too strong for the southeners with both players scoring 50 to help secure…
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Phuket Poll: Most-needed tourism development project for 2012
PHUKET: The year that was 2011 saw rapid development of the tourism sector in Phuket that was largely led by private-sector development in new hotels and new attractions, as highlighted in our Annual Review in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette on news stands now. [Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Meanwhile, several government plans to…
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Parents hold onto hope as boy lies comatose in Phuket
PHUKET: The parents of seven-year-old Methee “Shogun” Khunsuinhu have told the Phuket Gazette they will hold on to whatever time they have left with their young boy. Methee remains comatose on life support in the intensive care unit at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town after being rescued unconscious in a natural pool at Nai Harn Beach on Saturday. Sitting…
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New Year’s Eve pub murder rocks Phuket
PHUKET: A simmering dispute between two Patong business owners turned deadly on New Year’s Eve when one gunned down his rival outside a well-known Phuket pub just before dawn yesterday. The shooting was reported to Patong Police by 15-year-old Rachain Noonpakdee, said a report in today’s Siangtai Daily newspaper. Rachain said that one of the “big brothers”, 35-year-old Wirote “Baomee”…
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Boy, 7, on life support after rescue at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A young boy is on life support in the intensive-care unit (ICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town this evening after being pulled from a popular swimming area near Nai Harn Beach late yesterday afternoon.“His name is Methee Khunsuinhu, 7 years old. He is now in the ICU. He will be transferred to the children’s ward if he…
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Phuket’s ‘Persons of the Year’: A Sailor’s Salute
PHUKET: As with our Person of the Year Award in 2009, we have opted for the plural again this year and are delighted to announce that the honor goes to four of the driving forces behind the annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Many forces are required to stage an event of this magnitude, but because of the length of their…
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A New Year’s message from the Phuket Governor
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR OF PHUKET Tri Augkaradacha took up the position of Phuket Governor in October 2009 after serving almost four years as vice governor. Having already reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years, he will finish his career in the civil service at the end of October this year. Since his appointment as Governor, he has…
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Phuket boosts water-safety as New Year countdown nears
PHUKET: As the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign continues across Phuket, the Marine Police are joining the effort on the water by stepping up safety checks and deploying vessels to conduct 24-hour operations. The moves comes as Phuket struggles to accommodate the huge influx of tourists who have arrived for the island’s “peak season” in tourism, a period that…
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Gov Tri gets Red Cross Fair underway
PHUKET: Scores of people turned out last night the opening night of the Phuket Red Cross Fair in Phuket Town, with many people among the huge crowd hoping to win the top prize in the popular lucky draw: a brand-new Honda City car. The 11-day fair, being held at the Central Stage Area at Saphan Hin, was declared officially underway…
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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