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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AMCHAM seminar sees Phuket property stronger than in rival resorts
PHUKET: The Phuket property market, though not yet back to the boom years, is staging a slow but steady recovery and is perceived to be offering better growth prospects than competing resort-based markets in the region. That, at least, was the conclusion of a panel of experts at a seminar in Phuket late last month. The meeting, organized by the…
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FC Phuket 2 – 2 Samut Prakan
PHUKET: FC Phuket pulled back from down two-nil to salvage a point on the road at Samut Prakan in the Thai League’s Division 1 yesterday. The Southern Sea Kirin appeared to be on yet another hard-luck road trip when Samut Prakan’s Lee Tuck scored early in the second half and then set up teammate Weerasak Kiatsoong-nern put his side up…
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War of the Wires: Phuket cable TV providers suspect sabotage
PHUKET: Following a spate of cable-cutting incidents over the past few months, local cable providers around the island are fed up. Suspecting sabotage, Atsadakorn Sidokbuap of KPP Cable TV and Kampanat Thantiwat, managing director of PA Business Phuket, filed a formal request for action to Phuket Electricity Authority (PEA) chief Somchai Krueapat on Tuesday. Mr Kampanat said he was acting…
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Phuket coral gets its groove back
PHUKET: Recent shallow-water surveys conducted off Phuket have documented significant regrowth of coral, marine biologists say. Researchers headed by divers from the Marine and Coastal Biology and Ecology Unit of Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) reveal the island’s coral reefs are starting to show signs of recovery from last year’s devastating coral bleaching episode. Initial post-bleaching damage assessments showed that…
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Bin Laden killing: Phuket reacts
PHUKET: The announcement by the US government that its military force had assassinated Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden on May 2 was greeted with celebrations in the US and Europe. But what was the reaction of the man in the street half the world away in Phuket? The Phuket Gazette set out earlier this week to see what Phuketians…
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Phuket Crime: A special report on teen gang violence in paradise
PHUKET: Amid the scenic farms and hills of northern Phuket, beneath the ebb and flow of idyllic rural life, boils a rage – the rotten by-product of changing times. In Thalang, the body count continues to rise as neglected youth while away their days with a lethal cocktail of drugs and petty territorial disputes, while their parents work full-time just…
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Patong-Chalong shortcut bypassed in Phuket road upgrade
PHUKET: The shortcut between Chalong and Patong, directly across the Nakkerd Hills, was omitted from a 93.5-million-baht Department of Rural Roads project to upgrade unsealed roads throughout Phuket. The Thanon Rai Feun (“Dust-free Roads”) project recently concluded with 12 previously unpaved roads on the island now signed, sealed and delivered, said Department of Rural Roads Phuket Office Director Teeraporn Jirarattanakorn.…
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Phuket’s new incinerator hits halfway mark
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s second solid waste incinerator is nearly half complete. When finished, the facility will house the highest capacity trash-to-electricity plant in the country, Phuket City officials say. The news follows a progress-update meeting on Tuesday of Tawarat Sutabutr, deputy director of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE); Phuket Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana; and Prachoom Suriya,…
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No arrests yet in Phuket dive death: Police
PHUKET: Police have yet to make any arrests in the investigation into the death of Japanese tourist Hitomi Shibata, Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have not arrested or pressed charges against anyone as we still have to question the boat driver and the crew about what happened first,” said Lt Attawat, who…
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Phuket man plunges into water well, drowns
PHUKET: Phuket Police are treating as an apparent suicide the death of an elderly man whose body was found at the bottom of a water well in Thalang early this morning. Thalang Police were notified of the tragedy at 7am by residents of Ban Nai Khlam in Cherng Talay, many of whom were gathered around the well by the time…
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Japanese dive tourist “struck in face by propeller’: Police
PHUKET: Hitomi Shibata, the Japanese tourist who died while on a dive tour off Koh Racha yesterday, was struck in the face by the propeller of the dive boat she was with, police told the Phuket Gazette today. “From our initial investigation, Miss Hitomi was diving with her dive instructor and a friend when they saw her suddenly start to…
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Election Thailand: Raewat, Jirayus to run in Phuket polls
PHUKET: Phuket MP Raewat Areerob of the Democrat Party yesterday announced he will contest the “Phuket 2” constituency in the national elections. Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will dissolve parliament tomorrow or Monday, paving the way for the Election Commission to announce the date of the elections. The Phuket 2 constituency covers more than half of the…
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Phuket pirate raids net 11 vendors, B6mn in goods
PHUKET: Raids on Phuket shops selling pirated DVDs and CDs this evening ended with 11 arrests and evidence worth up to 6 million baht seized. Led by Pol Lt Gen Krisada Pankongcheun, deputy director of the police Center for Suppression of Intellectual Property Crime, the raids targeted 13 shops in Patong, some along the beach road and others in the…
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MOU seen as solution to Phuket Deep Sea Port blockades
PHUKET: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cape Panwa taxi drivers and tour operators who use the Phuket Deep Sea Port will be drawn up in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute over access to tourists disembarking there. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen this morning chaired a discussion on the issue at Provincial Hall. The MoU, to be drafted…
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Phuket poll: Is police drug testing effective?
PHUKET: Every member of the Phuket Provincial Police force was due to be tested for ya bah (methamphetamine) use in April, the provincial police commander recently announced. Thus far, there have been no reports of any officers testing positive for the powerful stimulant. The latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll asks whether the testing is an effective measure to ensure that…
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King cobra eggs raise Phuket snake alarm
PHUKET: A man worried that a clutch of king cobra snake eggs beside his house were about to hatch today called in the egg-citing find to rescue workers to have them removed immediately. Ruamjai Rescue Foundation workers received a call from the owner of the house, in Soi Ban Klang off Chao Fa West Road, at about 2pm. Eleven eggs,…
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Tsunami fears prompt Phuket convention center redesign
PHUKET: Concerns over whether the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) would be able to withstand a tsunami have sparked a full review of the project design plans. Wongsakorn Nunchukhan, from the Department of Public Works And Town & Country Planning office in Phuket yesterday told a progess-update meeting at Provincial Hall that the141-rai coastal site in Mai Khao,…
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FC Phuket vying for first road win on Sunday
PHUKET: Fresh from a 6-1 drubbing of Thai Honda, FC Phuket will try and claim their first road victory at Samut Prakan on Sunday. Samut Prakan, sponsored by the Customs Department, go into the match in 14th place, with three wins, seven losses and one draw. They go into the match coming off a 1-0 road loss at Suphanburi. Meanwhile,…
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Phuket Live Wire; Behind the 3G wrangle
PHUKET: As explained in last week’s Live Wire, the 3G situation in Thailand is incredibly convoluted, from what exactly is 3G compared to what is being called 3G, to who has rights to provide “real” 3G and why is it taking so long for Thailand to roll out what the rest of the world seemingly already has. Last week I…
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Phuket lifeguards warn over dangerous rip tides
PHUKET: Although no drownings were recorded at Phuket beaches over the past month, the president of the Phuket lifeguard organization today warned tourists to beware of strong rip tides. “Over the past few days, there have been big waves with strong underwater currents,” said Prathaiyuth Chuayuan, president of the Phuket Lifeguard Service (PLS), which is contracted to provide lifeguard patrols…
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Red Cross blood drive in Phuket
PHUKET: To mark World Red Cross Day this Sunday, a nationwide “Discover the Volunteer Within You” blood drive is calling out for blood donors in Phuket and the Andaman region. World Red Cross Day was designated May 8 by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in memory of Red…
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Osama bin Laden is dead
PHUKET: The people of Phuket woke this morning to an announcement by US President Barack Obama that the world’s most-wanted terrorist, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is dead. He was killed by US forces on Sunday at a compound deep inside Pakistan, President Obama announced during a live nationwide television address at the White House last night (early this…
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FC Phuket trounce Thai Honda, Thawin breaks leg
PHUKET: FC Phuket played their best performance of the year last night, delighting the faithful at Surakul Stadium with a 6-1 rout of Thai Honda. The Southern Sea Kirin opened the flood-gates early with Nene Bi Tra Sylvestre netting a header from close range at just three minutes. Thawin Butsombat scored just before halftime to put FC Phuket up 2-0,…
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USS Ronald Reagan strike group anchors off Phuket
PHUKET: The nuclear-powered US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan dropped anchor in Ao Makham today ahead of about 7,000 US Navy servicemen who will be taking shore leave in Phuket. Accompanying the 332-meter supercarrier are the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the destroyer USS Preble, altogether designated as the ‘USS Ronald Reagan strike group’. The convoy recently completed its…
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US dad nabbed in Phuket gets 10 years for passport fraud
PHUKET: An American father arrested in Phuket in June last year has been sentenced by a US federal court to 10 years in prison for forging documents needed to illegally bring his daughter to Thailand, according to a US media report. Samuel Lee Horton, 38, was arrested by FBI agents in Phuket in June 2010 for violation of an outstanding…
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Phuket police nab meth ‘delivery man’ at Tesco
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday arrested a drug mule with 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and 197.14 grams of ya ice (crystal meth), with a street value of about 1.1 million baht. The arrest followed the initial arrest of Jamnong Chumplub, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, who was found in possession with 10 ya bah pills in an earlier raid. During…
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Pacific navies in Phuket discuss disaster relief, nuclear meltdown
PHUKET: The third and final symposium of major human aid agencies and 16 navies covering half the world drew to a close in Phuket yesterday, with representatives focusing on naval involvement in providing relief to disaster-struck areas, including nuclear meltdowns. The symposium, titled the third Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), was held…
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Phuket Airport international arrivals up 25%
PHUKET: Phuket is enjoying record numbers of foreign tourists in 2011, according to official statistics. The number of international passengers arriving at Phuket Airport January through March totaled 654,009, up 25.1% over the same period in 2010, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). This included a growth of 31.3% (228,768) in January, 24.3% (231,326) in February and 21.6%…
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Phuket to host “half-Thai’ beauty contest
PHUKET: A bevy of half-Thai, half-foreign beauties will descend on Phuket in October for the inaugural Miss Euro Asia 2011 beauty contest. Kritphanat Patwarasit, Managing Director of ND Productions, floated the idea to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday. The governor gave his vote of approval. “We can put this event on Phuket’s tourism-activity calender. It will attract people to visit…
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Phuket Police arrest three for killing of Thalang teen
PHUKET: Police have arrested three young men who have confessed to the stabbing murder of Phuket teen Thawatchai “Ton” Maelanon, whose body was discovered in a rubber plantation in Thalang on March 26. At a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong identified one of the three suspects as 23-year-old Apirak “Khao”…
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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