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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FC Phuket primed for success in Loei
PHUKET: The FC Phuket promotion bandwagon is back on the road this weekend, with the team traveling north to face Loei City on tomorrow afternoon. Kickoff for the AIS Regional League Division 2 playoff match will be at 4pm. Last Saturday the Phuket team came from a goal down to beat Loei 2-1 on the home turf at Surakul Stadium.…
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Loy Krathong losing its luster among Phuket youths
PHUKET: Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for Loy Krathong events to be held across Phuket on Sunday night, yet many young Thais seem to be losing interest in the tradition. From Mai Khao to Rawai, floats adorned with flowers and alight with candles will be set adrift at sea, on canals, lakes and rivers to…
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Point blank: Phuket man dies in Thalang shooting murder
PHUKET: A man was shot dead in front of his mother in his Phuket home last night. Thalang Police duty officer Pratuang Polmana identified the victim as Nipon Lohajan, aged 35. The victim’s mother told police her son answered a knock at the door of their home near the Heroines’ Monument at about 11:30pm. As soon as the door opened…
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Drug cases top Phuket crime statistics for October
PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police for October this year show decreases in most crime categories, with narcotics-related crimes once again the most common. There was no change in the number of Category 1 (heinous) crimes year-on-year, with 10 cases reported. There were four pre-mediated murders reported with two arrests in October this year and five cases…
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Aussie carrier Strategic Air to launch Phuket services
PHUKET: Australian carrier Strategic Airlines is preparing to launch non-stop direct flights to Phuket from Melbourne and Brisbane early next year, the Herald Sun has reported. The full-service carrier will offer twice-weekly flights, Tuesday and Fridays, from Melbourne to Phuket starting from February 22, 2011. The move follows Virgin Australia’s decision to end its Phuket service. Strategic’s service will be…
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Entries for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta near 100 mark
PHUKET: Almost 100 boats have already registered for this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, which will get underway off Kata Beach on December 4. Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event attracts participants from around the world and generates in excess of 100 million baht into the local economy annually.…
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Craig Alexander to compete in Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 event
PHUKET: The world’s most successful Ironman athlete of recent years, Australian Craig Alexander will contest the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket on December 5. Alexander is the latest addition to a stellar line-up of elite professional triathletes heading to the island. As Ironman World Champion for the past two years, Alexander is set to face-off against fellow Ironman…
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Ronald Fanelli update: Still no return to Phuket Prison
PHUKET: Legal proceedings against confessed killer Ronald Fanelli are on hold until the American returns to Phuket, the Gazette has learned. Mr Fanelli is currently undergoing psychiatric examination at a facility in Surat Thani. The former US Navy officer was taken to Suan Saranrom Hospital for examination on September 13, reportedly at his own request. The case against him has…
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Phuket star gazers hope for clear skies
PHUKET: Weather permitting, the annual Leonids meteor shower should be viewable with unaided eyes after midnight tonight. The show will reach its peak between 3am and 5am, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute. Phuket people might not want to do an all-night vigil hoping to catch a glimpse, however. The northeast monsoon continues to prevail over Southern Thailand’s west…
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Phuket motorcycle helmet campaign hits streets of Patong
PHUKET: Over a thousand Patong residents yesterday took part in a parade in support of the “100% motorcycle helmet use” campaign underway across Phuket. The parade, held along the beach road in Patong, is part of the public awareness phase of the campaign. It was organized by Kathu Police, the Patong Taxi Federation, and Patong Municipality. The safety campaign, which…
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Phuket youth rugby club seeks donations
PHUKET: Members of Phuket’s Lomas Rugby club are appealing for donations as they get ready for a busy tour schedule. The club, which relies on contributions to pay expenses, is sending teams to two important youth tournaments in the coming weeks. The under-15 and under-12 squads will compete in the National Sevens Regional Qualifiers to be held in Krabi on…
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Two new vice governors for Phuket
PHUKET: Two new vice governors will take up office in Phuket later this month under the latest civil service reshuffle approved by the Ministry of Interior. The two new vice governors, effective from November 29, will be sitting Krabi Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen and sitting Surin Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak. Their appointments, approved on Saturday, are expected to lighten the…
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Phuket poll: Will the strong baht hurt high-season tourism?
PHUKET: With the Thai baht surging against many foreign currencies, the Gazette asks readers what effect they think the strong baht will have on the local economy entering the “high season” for tourism. To vote in the latest readers’ poll, click here or on the icon at the top right of this page. — News editor
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Qatar Airways flight a boon for Phuket
PHUKET: A new daily flight connecting Doha and Phuket is set to benefit the island in a number of ways, including improving travel options among European tourists wishing to holiday in the Andaman region. The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, landed in Phuket on October 12. Phuket is one of nine new destinations…
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Phuket International Sportfishing Tournament starts Thursday
PHUKET: Registration for the annual Phuket International Sportfishing Tournament 2010 starts from 5pm tomorrow, with competitors setting out from Chalong Pier over the following three days in search of 11 eligible species, including black marlin, sailfish, cobia, barracuda and tuna. Trophies will go to the heaviest catch in each category, as well as for the most billfish releases. There will…
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Phuket fire: Patong post office damaged
PHUKET: A small fire in Patong yesterday afternoon caused commotion along Phuket’s busiest beach road and water damage to Taweewong Post Office. The blaze reportedly broke out from an electrical short inside an air compressor on the second floor of the True Coffee shop, on Soi Patong Post Office. Six Patong Municipality firefighting vehicles rushed to the scene. Firefighters managed…
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Phuket art galleries to show beach clean-up artwork
PHUKET: Beginning next month, selected art galleries in Phuket will stage a series of “marine debris” exhibitions comprising artwork made from trash collected during beach clean-ups. The grand opening will be at the Nakhonnai Museum, opposite the Golden Tulip Mangosteen Resort & Spa on Saiyuan Road Soi 2 in Rawai. Doors will open at 6pm on December 1. Subsequent showing…
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Phuket private healthcare gets a thumbs-up: poll
PHUKET: A majority of Phuket Gazette on-line readers have a favorable opinion of private health-care services in Phuket, the results of the latest Readers’ Poll reveal. Last week readers were asked: “With two international hospitals and numerous private clinics, Phuket has been much touted as a medical tourism hub. Cost considerations aside, how would you rate the overall quality of…
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Phuket to host Asian Beach Games 2014
PHUKET: Phuket is set to host the fourth-ever Asian Beach Games in 2014 after Thai officials inked a deal with the Olympic Council of Asia on November 13. Thailand was the only country that made a bid, said Olympic Committee of Thailand president Yutthasak Sasiprabha. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradecha said the sporting extravaganza could bring as much as one billion…
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Princess Sirindhorn to visit orphans in Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket and Phang Nga on November 23. Her visit, announced by the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office yesterday, will start at 9am at the SOS Children’s Village in Koh Kaew, where she will chair the opening ceremony for a new school building. The orphanage, built following the 2004 tsunami, is the fifth SOS…
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FC Phuket beats Loei City 2:1
PHUKET: FC Phuket came from behind to beat Loei City 2-1 last night, greatly improving their chances for promotion to Division 1 of the Thai Football League. FC Phuket dominated play in the first half, but failed to convert on numerous scoring chances. A goal by Loei City early in the second half silenced the crowd, but a converted penalty…
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Bizarre murder-suicide in Phuket Town restaurant
PHUKET: A restaurant owner shot his sister-in-law in the head and then turned the gun on himself in front of shocked patrons at a Phuket City restaurant last night. Phuket City Police received a report of the shooting at at the Khrua Pailin Restaurant on Surin Road in Phuket Town at about 9:20pm. Led by Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai…
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Phuket land dispute stalls sea gypsy culture center project
PHUKET: More than a hundred sea gypsies handed a letter of protest to Phuket Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat on Thursday, demanding action over alleged encroachment at the site of the planned Urak Lawoi Culture Center on Koh Sireh. The protesters, who live in the nearby Laem Tukkae community, said they were at first unconcerned when they noticed workmen removing barbed…
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US Navy back in Phuket
PHUKET: The USS Peleliu dropped anchor in Phuket today, bringing along a complement of 960 sailors and about 1,900 Marines. The 5th Fleet support ship arrived straight from the Arabian Sea following 10 weeks of emergency relief work in flood-stricken Pakistan. The Peleliu, with its 254-meter-long and 40m wide flight deck, helped evacuate nearly 9,000 displaced persons and deliver more…
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More rain for Phuket, Andaman coast
PHUKET: The heavy rains Phuket is experiencing will continue over the next 24 hours, according to the latest Meteorological Department (MET) forecast. According to the latest report issued by the MET’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) at Phuket Airport, a monsoon trough remains fixed over the Southern Thailand. More rain, with isolated heavy rain, is expected along the west coast,…
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Norwegian dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A young Norwegian man took his life this morning by jumping from the 13th floor of a Phuket hotel. The 26-year-old, whose name is being held pending notification of kin, was found dead on the grounds of the Phuket Palace Hotel in Patong just after 10:30am. Capt Weerapong Rakkitteo of the Kathu Police said CCTV camera footage taken at…
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Phuket landing fees slashed to lure more tourists
PHUKET: Airlines that launch a service connecting Phuket with a “new” destination will have their landing fees for all flights on that service slashed by 95%. As an added bonus, airlines that open any such new routes will receive 70 baht per passenger on any scheduled flights landing in off-peak hours: from 1am to 8:59am and 10pm to midnight. Effective…
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Internet in Phuket: Khun Woody speaks at IBAP meeting tonight
PHUKET: Local computer guru Woody Leonhard will be the keynote speaker at a meeting of the International Business Association of Phuket, or IBAP, this evening. Khun Woody will speak on the current state of Internet access in Phuket in a program entitled: Internet in Phuket: 3G, 4G, No G 4U. He will talk about 2G, 3G, and 4G phones, and…
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Temple thief shooting “self-defense’: Phuket Police
PHUKET: A man gunned down by police on Sunday was shot in self-defense, police say. “Police were chasing him, and the robber started shooting at the officers, so they returned fire,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit said. The man was shot four times in the chest. “He died instantly at the scene,” Col Wanchai added. No identification was found…
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Phuket health workers battle HIV/Aids, STDs – and social stigma
PHUKET: It’s no secret that prostitution, while illegal, is rife on Phuket. While most public agencies turn a blind eye to the reality, the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) however, continues to run its ongoing campaign to ensure sex workers have voluntary regular health checks. On the front lines as head of the PPHO’s HIV/Aids division is Eam-orn Kittitornkul, a…
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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