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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Are you ready for the weekend in Phuket?
PHUKET: Today’s Andaman Edition of the hard-copy Phuket Gazette newspaper went on sale late last night and our Nationwide Edition was released in Bangkok and placed aboard the major international airlines serving Phuket early this morning. Both editions contain reams of information not available here in the Gazette Online. NEWS – In-depth reports about the fate of the 68 Rohingya…
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BREAKING NEWS: 33 Rohingya remain detained in Phuket, tell of hardships at home
PHUKET: The whereabouts of the 68 Rohingya refugees who were arrested on January 31 when their boat drifted to Phuket’s shores has been confirmed by the Phuket Gazette. Phuket Immigration late yesterday gave the Gazette access to 33 Rohingya men in custody at the Immigration Detention Center (IDC). The youngest in the cell was only nine years old and the…
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Serial thief arrested, charged with 13 burglaries in Phuket
PHUKET: A 33-year-old Nakhon Sawan man who was just released from prison last year was arrested and charged yesterday with 13 counts of burglary in Phuket. His previous jail time, 18 months in Phuket prison, stemmed from multiple instances of purchasing stolen goods from colleagues in the trade, according to police at a press conference this afternoon. The accused, Weerapat…
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Phuket Reminder: Business law tops agenda for IBAP meeting tonight
PHUKET: The keynote speaker at the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP) meeting tonight will be Michael Doyle, a US attorney and partner of the Bangkok-based law firm Seri Manop & Doyle. Mr Doyle, co-author and contributing editor of the recently released book Doyle’s Practical Guide to Business Law in Emerging Countries in Asia, will speak on the issue: Business…
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Phuket sea gypsies fear losing rights to ancestral burial ground
PHUKET: Phuket sea gypsy villagers at Laem Tukkae are living in fear that access to their ancestral burial ground will be closed permanently. The issue was raised directly today with Somchai Seanglai, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, who led a delegation of officers to the area to hear a variety of complaints from the villagers. The graveyard…
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Hot time in Old Phuket Town tonight
PHUKET: Tonight is the last night of the annual Phuket Old Town Festival, centered in Thalang and Phang Nga Roads and in Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town. Despite being held mid-week, this year’s event has been busier than ever with a wide range of staged entertainments, food and drink, and exhibitions focused on life in the olden days. The…
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Anchalee calls for all islanders to register as Phuket residents
PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr, Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, this morning urged all people living in Phuket to register as residents so that appropriate-size development budgets could be allocated for the number of people actually living on the island. The rapid pace of development in Phuket was a serious concern of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Cabinet, and the…
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German methadone survivor out of Phuket ICU
PHUKET: A German man whose male partner died of an apparent methadone overdose by penile injection last week is out of a coma, staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital have confirmed. The German, in his mid-30s, was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital from Bangkok International Hospital last Friday. “He was released from the ICU [on Tuesday], but is still under close…
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Phuket yachting icon succumbs to road accident injuries
PHUKET: Tony Knight, a leading figure in Phuket yachting for more than a decade, died in Brisbane, Australia last night after succumbing to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. “Tony had a motorcycle accident in Australia on Friday and seemed not too bad, but his condition deteriorated over the next few days as we believe his lung or spleen was…
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Phuket Old Town Festival starts today
PHUKET: The 12th-annual Phuket Old Town Festival kicks off at 7pm tonight, offering a wide range of performances, food and fun activities along Thalang Road and at Queen Sirikit Park. Coming less than a week after the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, one of the highlights of this year’s events is two objects related to reverence of the…
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Phuket committee agrees to set standard tuk-tuk fares
PHUKET: A maximum fare of 200 baht has been set for any tuk-tuk or taxi ride within Patong, a Phuket provincial committee confirmed today. The committee was tasked to address problems associated with tuk-tuk drivers overcharging customers. Members held a meeting at Provincial Hall today to reach a final agreement on the fares, which are now set to be standard…
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Phuket “mangrove road’ EIA approved
PHUKET: After more than a decade, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) has finally approved an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a controversial road through a mangrove forest in Phuket Town. News that the EIA of the Klong Koh Phee Road project had been approved was announced yesterday at a project committee meeting chaired by Phuket Governor Tri…
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Phuket Police: Drug war crippled by slow test results
PHUKET: Procedural problems in drug testing are crippling efforts by the Phuket Police to suppress narcotics use on the island, a provincial committee on drug suppression was told last week. At the first annual meeting of the committee, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha said central government policy on drug issues was straightforward and progress easy to…
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Mick Tonkin funeral set for Wat Prathong, Phuket
PHUKET: The funeral for well-known Phuket resident Mick Tonkin is now scheduled for Tuesday, February 8, at Wat Prathong in Thalang. The ceremony will start at 12 noon and be followed by a wake at the Black Cat restaurant, one of Mick’s favorite places, in Cherng Talay. For directions to Wat Prathong, see Google Maps and enter the search term:…
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German dead in Phuket from penis injection
PHUKET: One German tourist is dead and another in hospital following apparent overdoses of the drug methadone, with one of the men allegedly injecting the drug into his penis. Chalong Police said the tourists, a gay couple in their mid-30s, arrived in Phuket on January 26 as part of a group tour and were staying at a five-star hotel in…
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Chinese New Year surge for Phuket tourism
PHUKET: Phuket is reaping the rewards of a huge surge in tourists for this year’s Chinese New Year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects revenue generated over the festival period to top the eight-billion-baht mark nationwide, from both domestic and foreign markets. Reports from around the island point to occupancy rates hitting 90 percent in the three and four-star…
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Israelis offer Phuket tech and security support
PHUKET: The Israeli ambassador to Thailand was in Phuket yesterday and met Governor Tri Augkaradacha to offer assistance in airport security and water technology. Ambassador Itzhak Shoham told the governor that he would, on behalf of Israeli investors, like to offer support and knowledge of security systems to Airports of Thailand in their expansion of Phuket International Airport. Amb Shoham…
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Phuket puts on spectacular Chinese New Year show
PHUKET: Chinese New Year kicked off with a hail of fireworks and live performances by acrobats, dancers and some of Thailand’s top musical acts at Sanaam Chai field in Phuket Town yesterday evening. The event, hosted by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), started at 4pm and saw thousands of people turn out for the food and entertainment. “This event…
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TAT invites Phuket tourists, locals to join shrine tours
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Phuket Town is inviting residents and tourists to take part in special po thong bus tours of nine Chinese Shrines in Phuket. The cultural tours, conducted aboard 10-seat open-air buses known locally as po thong, will start from the TAT office on Thalang Road at 9am and 10am daily. Those wishing…
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Popular Phuket expat resident Mick Tonkin is dead
PHUKET: The well-known Phuket businessman and computer software entrepreneur Mick Tonkin has died suddenly in Bangkok. Mick collapsed as he arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport early on Wednesday evening for a business meeting. Efforts to revive him at the scene and later in hospital were unsuccessful. It is understood he suffered a massive heart attack. Born in south London at the…
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Phuket to host Poolasia Expo and Conference
PHUKET: The Poolasia Expo and Conference, billed as the first swimming pool and spa trade show in tropical Asia, will be held at Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa from March 4 to 6. Event organizer Silkwaters Media is inviting swimming pool companies, contractors, spa suppliers, architects, developers, hotels, resorts, apartment owners and managers, hospitals, and private investors to participate.…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket murder suspect Lee Aldhouse in court
PHUKET: Phuket “kickbox murder” suspect Lee Aldhouse appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Tuesday for an extradition hearing following a request from the Thai authorities, the UK Home Office has confirmed. He will remain in custody in the UK until at least March 1, when he will return to the same court for extradition proceedings, Sam Eversden of…
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Coconut shortage hurting Phuket retailers
PHUKET: Phuket grocers are struggling to keep coconut products on their shelves amid a nationwide shortage due to drought and an insect infestation in the heart of Thailand’s coconut country. Supermarket giants Tesco Lotus and Big C both told the Phuket Gazette that their orders for coconut milk – a main ingredient in many Thai foods, especially desserts – are…
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Phuket “heinous” crimes up, murders down in 2010
PHUKET: There were 40 premeditated murders reported in Phuket in 2010, down from 45 in 2009, according to crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. The figures compare reported crime in five categories, along with arrest rates, over the two years. The first category, heinous crimes, saw a 36% increase overall, with 72 cases in 2009 increasing to 98…
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Phuket mascot for Youth Games unveiled
PHUKET: The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Phuket office has unveiled its official mascot for the 28th Thailand Youth Games, to be hosted in Phuket from March 18-28 next year. SAT Phuket Office Director Wirat Patee told the Phuket Gazette that the mascot, which has yet to be named, was chosen on Monday. The mascot has a blue body, human…
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Dead body discovered by Phuket dive boat tourists
PHUKET: A body was found floating in the sea by passengers on a Phuket dive boat this afternoon. The gruesome discovery was made in the waters between Koh Racha Yai and Chalong pier. Chalong Police told the Phuket Gazette that Marine Police have retrieved the body, which arrived at Chalong Pier about an hour ago. The boat, a Dive Chalong…
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Phuket Rotary continues fire relief efforts
PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Patong Beach is continuing its drive to provide relief to about 120 people who lost their homes in the Patong fire last week. “The club has approved a 50,000-baht emergency fund and collected 6,300 baht from our own membership to help the people who lost their homes,” said Stan Bailey. “This money is being used…
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Rohingya refugees arrested on arrival in Phuket
PHUKET: A boatload of 70 Rohingya refugees landed at Rawai Beach at the southern end of Phuket early this morning, only to be rounded up and taken to Chalong Police Station. Duty Officer Boonlert Onklang of Chalong Police said he arrived at the beach with fellow officers at about 5:30am. Within 90 minutes, police had arrested 35 of the refugees,…
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Phuket Poll: Police tourist shelter the last resort?
PHUKET: The Tourist Police (TP) are planning to build a temporary shelter for ‘down-on-their-luck’ foreign tourists. The new facility will be constructed at the TP’s regional headquarters on Yaowarat Road in Phuket Town. But is the shelter really a good idea? Have your say by voting in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll.
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Phuket in eye of national park corruption storm
PHUKET: Seven marine national parks for which Phuket is a major gateway for tourists will be investigated for alleged corruption in the collection of admission fees. A team officers to investigate the alleged corruption was selected on Saturday. Sunant Arunnopparat, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said an impartial official from the department would be…
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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