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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Woman charged over Phuket road killing
PHUKET: Chalong Police have charged a 28-year-old Thai woman with causing death by dangerous driving after she ran over a pedestrian in her pick-up truck last night. Sumarin Jaiboon hit Sathit Saenkla, a 57-year-old builder from Phang Nga, at high speed on Chao Fa West Road at the entrance to Soi Yodsane at around 11pm. Mr Sathit, who had just…
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Phuket landlord electrocuted on roof
PHUKET TOWN: A landlord was electrocuted on Saturday while trying to fix the roof of a house in Phuket Town. Phuket native Vissanu Thipsunthornnon, 42, was found dead with his legs dangling off the roof of the house on Wichit Songkhram Road at around 9am. Mr Vissanu’s wife said tenants had complained the roof was damaged in heavy rain the…
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Phuket tours miffed over Phi Phi fee
PHUKET: A 20-baht “entrance fee” levied by the local authority in charge of Koh Phi Phi has sparked a row with Phuket tour operators. On Saturday the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) began collecting the charge from all visitors to fund the cleaning of the island’s piers. Tour operators are complaining the TAO did not officially warn them in…
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Songkran in Phuket: Road safety clampdown coming
PHUKET: The water-splashing riot of the Songkran Festival draws near and with it the Phuket authorities’ annual road safety clampdown. Between April 12 and 18 police are promising to strictly enforce Thailand’s often-neglected traffic laws. In particular, officers will be on the lookout for drink driving, speeding and motorcycle riders without helmets. Twenty-four-hour checkpoints will be erected at the following…
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Phuket murder suspect gets bail
KATHU, PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver who allegedly shot and killed a man last week was released on bail the following day. Two friends of the dead man were injured, one seriously, when the vehicle they used to rush him to hospital crashed on the way. Thung Thong Police were notified of the crash on Phra Phuket Kaew Road at…
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Encroachers ordered off Phuket beaches
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hotels and restaurants in Mai Khao in Phuket have been given one month to vacate illegally occupied beachfront land after a barrage of complaints from local residents. Villagers complained in writing to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop that it was becoming ever more difficult for them to access public beach land because hotels and restaurants have erected barriers…
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Phuket Bike Week: hundreds cancel over protest fears
PHUKET: Hundreds of bikers have dropped out of Phuket Bike Week because of the red shirt protests in Bangkok, according to the president of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter). Suchart Hirankanokkul, who recently replaced Methee Tanmanatragul as head of the association, said 3,000 bikers had been expected to take part in the annual festival. Around 20 percent have dropped…
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FC Phuket crush Ranong 5-0
PHUKET TOWN: FC Phuket continued their undefeated run with an imperious 5-0 victory over a flimsy Ranong squad at Surakal Stadium on Saturday. FC Phuket have won every home match this season, giving their fans, who continue to grow in numbers with each game, plenty to sing about. With midfield linchpin Diarra Ali injured, striker Chakrit was recalled, while Poramut…
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Phuket Pilot on course to fly again
PHUKET: Cathay Pacific airline pilot Scott McDonald is back on the golf course – and playing better than ever. Mr McDonald, whose right foot and lower leg were sliced off in a freak motorcycle accident two months ago, had a new prosthetic foot fitted on March 14. The American has already played six rounds of his favorite sport at the…
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Phuket Bag Plague: carrot or stick?
PHUKET: What works best, the carrot or the stick? It’s an age-old question, and one brought to the fore here in Phuket with the launch this week of the Tesco Lotus ‘Green Bag Green Point’ scheme. [See details, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.] Lotus will reward shoppers who reuse bags – instead of using new…
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Cambodia may tweak Phuket property
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Cambodia is trying to encourage international investment by relaxing laws on property ownership by foreigners. The Financial Times reports that Cambodia’s draft law is under discussion at the National Assembly and would allow non-nationals to fully own residential…
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“Mind Centre’ opens in Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The Phuket International Academy (PIA) is opening its internationally rated Mind Centre for balance and well being with world renowned mentor B. Alan Wallace at the helm. The PIA Mind Centre will be launched a week from today…
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More Phuket forest destroyed
KATA, PHUKET: Two men were arrested on March 19 in what appears to be a large scheme to slash down and develop protected forest land in Phuket. During a routine patrol of land near the Kata viewpoint along Kata-Sai Yuan road, Karon Sub-District Chief (Kamnan) Winai Chitcheiw discovered around five rai of deforested land. Although most of the trees cut…
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Phuketians march in support of prime minister
PHUKET TOWN: Around 200 Phuketians and members of the Phuket People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the streets on March 31, voicing their objections to the red-shirted United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) rally in Bangkok. The crowd marched from Queen Sirikit park to Phuket Provincial Hall waving banners and parading a huge national flag. In a show…
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Phuket Airport snubbed
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Bangkok Airways, Thailand’s largest privately owned carrier, plans to turn Samui Airport, rather than Phuket International Airport, into a second international air hub, after Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, in…
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Mass dive record postponed
PHANG NGA: Mr Wattana Pornprasert, chief of Khao Lumpi-Had Thai Muang Marine National Park revealed that the diving festival in Thai Muang District on April 3 that aimed to set a new dive record has been postponed due to bad weather. It had been hoped that over 3,000 divers would attend the record breaking attempt. Mr Wattana said that he…
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Phuket to benefit from second airport
CHALONG, PHUKET: Plans for a second major Phuket airport, to be situated in Chalong, have been tendered and construction could begin as early as February next year. A 140-million-baht feasibility study and pro forma environmental impact evaluation of the project are nearing completion, according to Jet Terminals Co (JTC) of San Diego, California. “On the basis of the research and…
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Phuket meeting to urge end to protests
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: More than 1,000 local tourism sector representatives and tour operators will gather in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Pattaya and Samui tomorrow afternoon to urge anti-government red-shirt protesters to end their political rallies. The protests resulted…
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Phuket trash crisis: Tesco goes it alone
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus yesterday launched its own answer to Phuket’s long-delayed plastic bag charging scheme. The UK-based retail chain’s “Green Bag Green Point” initiative rewards customers who reuse old shopping bags with points which can be exchanged for cash coupons. Customers also receive “green points” when they buy certain environmentally friendly products. The project was launched in Bangkok on March…
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Phuket threatened as airfares soar
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: In what might look like an April Fools’ Day joke but isn’t, Thai Airways is increasing its domestic fares tomorrow in hopes that its passengers will be willing…
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Phuket Immigration closed during holiday
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) will be closed for a week during the upcoming Songkran public holiday, the Gazette has learned. The Phuket Town Immigration office will be closed from April 13 until April 18 and any foreigners who need to register with immigration during that period are urged to do so by April 12 or on April…
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Life after death: Bereaved family turn Phuket lifesavers
PHUKET: The family of a young Canadian man who died in a freak accident in Patong six years ago have donated six Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to Phuket hospitals and rescue foundations. Noah Yelizarov, 19, died as a result of electrical shock on October 9, 2004. He was in Phuket on holiday with three friends. Standing knee-deep in flood water…
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Phuket protest against prawn farm poisonings
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: Villagers are complaining that shrimp farms in Ban Tha Rua in Phuket are poisoning the canal their livelihoods depend on. Ten residents of Bang La village said last week that shrimp farm operators were letting chemical wastewater flood into Klong Pak Ka, killing marine life. Surasak Wahlum, a 55-year-old fisherman, said, “The wastewater kills shellfish and other…
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Dane found dead in Phuket guesthouse
KATA, PHUKET: A Danish tourist died while eating pizza in a Phuket guesthouse on Thursday. A maid at Tik Place in Kata told police she grew suspicious when Mr Svend Aage Schwaback, 69, failed to check out on time. After failing to get a response from Mr Schwaback, the maid entered his room and found him lying on the bed…
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Phuket Gazette moves to Koh Kaew
PHUKET: After 17 years in Phuket, the last 13 of them in Phuket Town, the Phuket Gazette moves to Koh Kaew on Wednesday. Located just off the west side (northbound lanes) of Thepkrasattri Rd, the new office complex is roughly midway between the Bypass Rd and the Heroines’ Monument. If traveling north, take a left turn immediately after the large…
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Bikers descend on Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: More than 3,000 big bikers from across Thailand and nearby countries will gather in Phuket during ‘Phuket Bike Week 2010’ and celebrate the Thai Water Festival of Songkran,…
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Phuket’s praises sung – loudly
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: While not all is well in Thailand, with fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra threatening to incite civil disobedience nationwide [see story below], Phuket continues to generate favorable…
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Accident claims two lives in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: A Frenchman and a Thai man were killed in a motorcycle accident in Phuket in the early hours of March 25. Chalong Police found Cyril Chausse, 40, dead at the scene near his smashed motorcycle. His bike collided with a motorcycle driven by Loei-native Naphatphol Hongchumphare, 25, who died on the way to hospital. Mr Naphatphol, who worked…
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New reef guarding Phuket ecosystems
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources has sunk 1,310 concrete blocks into the Andaman Sea off Phuket to create an artificial reef aimed at protecting the marine life of Sirinath National Park. The reef lies 3,000 meters from the coast, marking the area where sea fishing is forbidden. It extends from Sarasin Bridge in Mai Khao…
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Breaking through: Phuket road near completion
WICHIT, PHUKET: The final stages of construction are set to begin on a long awaited road connecting the bypass road near HomeWorks to Ekwahnit Road behind Surakul stadium. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop swung the project into action by helping demolish a wall with a sledgehammer on March 24. The 550-meter-long road, running behind Darasamuth School, was expected to have been…
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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