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 murder suspect arrested after 3 years on the run
PHUKET: After three years on the run, a man wanted for a stabbing murder in Phuket Town in 2007 has been arrested by police in Phang Nga. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong, Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee and Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit yesterday afternoon led a press conference to announce the arrest 26-year-old Tossaporn ‘Peh’ Jarunrak. Mr Tossaporn…
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Phuket bars stay open late for World Cup matches
PHUKET: On opening day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, host South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico in a thrilling game, while France struggled to 0-0 draw against 10-man Uruguay in an uninspiring match. Bars in Patong have been allowed to stay open later than the normal 2am closing time, and many people lined the bars along Soi Bangla late…
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Laguna Marathon: Ananda to walk for charity in Phuket
PHUKET: The fifth annual Laguna Phuket International marathon gets underway bright and early at 4:30 tomorrow morning. Organizers say this year’s event is on track to attract some 5,000 runners competing in a full marathon, half marathon, 10.5km run, 5km family walk and 2km children’s run. Among the competitors will be Thai movie star Ananda Everingham, taking part in the…
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Phuket tsunami fears groundless: MET
PHUKET: The Meteorological Department (MET) has dismissed as groundless Internet reports that a celestial alignment will cause a tsunami-producing earthquake and solar flares tomorrow. The rumor appears to have started in Thailand following a posting on a Thai-language website. According to the post, a rare alignment of the Earth with Jupiter, Uranus, the Moon and the Sun will create strong…
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Phuket Senator slams Gov’t tourism recovery plan
PHUKET: Phuket Senator Thanyarat Achariyachai has slammed the government’s tourism-industry recovery measures, saying the tax incentives miss the mark and will do little to help operators outside the capital. Senator Thanyarat, who chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism, said that hotel occupancy rates have plummeted nationwide since the red shirt protests in April and May. She warned that hotels will…
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KBank lends Bt1.2bn for new Novotel project in Phuket
PHUKET: In a vote of confidence in Phuket’s tourism market, Kasikorn Bank (KBank) recently approved a 1.2-billion-baht loan to Bayshore Wing Co Ltd to construct a four-star, 305-room Novotel franchise hotel in Patong. News of the approved loan came last month, during a period of heavy debate over how much Phuket’s tourism-dependent economy would suffer from the dual threats of…
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Phuket ready for World Cup action
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette readers will have noticed, a few days ago, that we launched a dedicated Phuket Gazette web page expressly for football fans in Phuket needing their daily fix of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off tonight in South Africa. Just click on the 2010 World Cup button in the right margin (toward the top) of this…
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Phuket Andaman Halal 2010
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Andaman Halal 2010 fair will showcase the island’s Muslim culture, traditions and foods in Saphan Hin from June 18 to 20. The event has been organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) in conjunction with the Phuket Islamic Committee Office, the Halal Science Center of Chulalongkorn University, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The…
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Bank heist: Colombian gang arrested in Krabi
PHUKET: Three foreign suspects were arrested in Krabi yesterday for the theft of 12 million baht from a vehicle in the headquarters parking lot of one of Thailand’s largest commercial banks, the state-run media has reported. The suspects – one American and two Colombians – allegedly smashed a car window in a pick-up truck and lifted the cash in a…
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Hit-and-run, crash-and-burn in Phuket
PHUKET: A man trying to flee after a hit-and-run accident on Monday night smashed into a power pole and barely escaped alive after his car was engulfed in flames. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit said the driver was a well-known local businessman who was drunk at the time. According to a Phuket City Police preliminary investigations, the man was…
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Phuket ‘Geekfest’ set for June 20
PHUKET: Phuket’s Sunday-morning Computer Clinics turn three years old on June 20, when a gala ‘Geekfest’ will feature food, fun, and – most importantly – answers to your most pressing computer questions. “The Computer Clinics bring together PC users, from complete novices to Phuket’s most knowledgeable PC gurus. Everybody has questions – which Internet connection works best, where to take…
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Phuket to host ‘Global Ad Awards’, maybe
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Adman Patrick Ferrara has launched a campaign to promote ‘Global Advertising Awards’, to be held in Phuket in Febuary 2011, and he claims it will outdo, and eventually overtake, the 2010 Cannes Lions advertising fest. According to Advertising…
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Pitfalls for expats in Phuket: Do you really own your villa?
PHUKET: Many foreigners who buy property in Phuket opt for a stand-alone house (or ‘villa’), either in a managed estate or on a single plot, instead of an apartment or condominium, as the latter usually do not provide the individuality and/or privacy the buyer seeks. Due to legal restrictions in Thailand that prohibit land ownership by foreigners, it is common…
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Phuket Promotion: Mass Indian weddings
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: More than 1 billion baht is expected to be in circulation in Phuket if a plan to bring in over 400 Indian couples for marriage and honeymoons is realized, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in…
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Phuket Gov speaks out on Patong landslide disaster
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop has expressed sorrow and frustration over the mudslide that killed two workmen in Patong on Sunday. The monsoon season rains have begun and the state of the island’s hillsides mean Phuket will likely encounter more landslides, Gov Wichai said. Gov Wichai said that since the beginning of his term in Phuket he has spoken out…
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Feng shui concerns over Phuket tunnel project
PHUKET: The proposed traffic tunnel beneath Patong Hill is drawing opposition from some unexpected quarters, as some elderly ethnic-Chinese residents of the island believe the project could ruin Phuket’s feng shui and bring economic ruin. According to a Chinese legend, Phuket is a golden sea dragon emerging from the Indian Ocean. Tradition holds that this dragon, Hai Leng Ong, is…
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Phuket man denies role in BKK heist
PHUKET: The owner of a car rental company in Rawai has presented himself to Metropolitan Police in Bangkok, saying he had no role in the 12-million-baht robbery outside a bank in downtown Bangkok on Friday. Soon after learning that one of his vehicles had been used in the heist, 44-four-year-old Wichian Choochum of Rawai Village 1 turned himself in to…
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Two dead in Phuket mudslide
PHUKET: Two men are dead and a third injured following a mudslide at a hillside construction project during heavy rains in Patong yesterday afternoon. The slide hit at around 1:30pm as workers used a backhoe and other heavy equipment to excavate terraces in a hillside plot of a resort project on Soi Sang Krasee off Nanai Road in Patong. Patong…
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Phuket car used in mega-heist; foreigners suspected
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Police say a Toyota sedan owned by a Phuket person is believed to have been the vehicle used by the robbers in Friday’s 12-million baht robbery. The heist occurred outside the Krung Thai Bank headquarters in Bangkok. The…
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Pagunsan wins at Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Juvic Pagunsan from the Philippines recorded his first win on the Mercedes-Benz Tour yesterday following a runaway seven-stroke victory in the US$60,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand at Laguna Phuket Golf Club. Starting the day with a four-stoke lead he closed with a five-under-par 65. Thailand’s Udorn Duangdecha claimed outright second after shooting a 68 while Lam Chih Bing from Singapore…
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Phuket to crack down on World Cup gambling
PHUKET: Phuket authorities are preparing to crack down on gambling during the soccer World Cup that kicks off on June 11. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a law enforcement committee at Provincial Hall on May 26 that locals and tourists would be keenly following the tournament, not only for the love of the game, but also for gambling. Gov Wichai…
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Aus vs Iran in Phuket Seniors World Cup final
PHUKET: Australia and Iran will contest the final of the Seniors World Cup today at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town after winning their respective semi-finals yesterday. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6pm. Iran and New Zealand contested the first semi-final, resulting in a comfortable 4-1 win for the Iranians. The margin of victory allowed Iran to rotate…
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Five vehicle pile-up in Phuket
PHUKET: Slippery road conditions last night led to a five-vehicle pile-up on the bypass road that left one pick-up truck upended in a roadside drainage ditch and several people injured. The accident happened at about 6:15pm in the southbound lanes, about two kilometers north of the Tesco-Lotus junction near the Thanachart Bank. Just after light rain started, a motorcycle with…
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Seniors World Cup semifinal matches in Phuket today
PHUKET: Two semifinal matches in the 5th Seniors World Cup soccer tournament will take place at Surakul Stadium today. The first match, which kicks off at 4:30pm, will see undefeated Group A winners Iran take on New Zealand. Then, from 6:30pm, Group B winners Australia, also undefeated, take on hometown favorites Thailand in what promises to be a hotly contested…
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Firefly Airlines in Phuket promo
PHUKET: In a show of confidence in tourism to Phuket, Firefly Airlines launched a host of new destination travel packages and promotional campaigns, including the ability to book tickets through mobile phones. Angelina Fernandez, Firefly’s Head of Marketing & Communications, told a press conference at The Metropole hotel late last week that she didn’t think Phuket had been too badly…
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Road warriors: Phuket Tourist Association goes to Australia
PHUKET: In a bid to tempt more tourists from down under, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is planning a September road show to Australia. PTA President Somboon Jirayut said he was targeting Australia because there were direct flights to Phuket from most major cities there, including Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. “The association is also planning road shows in China,…
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Phuket tops investor sentiment for Thai property
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Various measures are being taken in Thailand to promote tourism as foreigners have not yet returned in the aftermath of the political violence. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is organizing a series of events and campaigns to…
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Pattaraphol leads at Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s talented crop of young golfers flourished once again yesterday at the US$60,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand, with new kid on the block Pattaraphol Khanthacha taking the halfway lead. The 20-year-old from Ratchaburi shot his second successive five-under-par 65 for a tournament total of 10-under-par 130. He leads by one stroke over Filipino Juvic Pagunsan at Laguna Phuket Golf Club.…
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Happy Air to launch Phuket to Nakhon Sri Thammarat flights
PHUKET: Happy Air will begin flights between Phuket and Nakhon Sri Thammarat next week. Joe Sontipun, sales and marketing director of the Phuket-based scheduled carrier, said the new flights will begin on Wednesday, when seats will be offered at a special promotional rate of just 1,000 baht, one way, all inclusive. Seat prices will increase to the normal 1,500-baht fare…
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Phuket man slain by Leo-wielding Lao
PHUKET: A drunken Lao man was arrested today for killing a friend by slashing his throat with a broken beer bottle. He confessed to the crime, telling police he acted out of rage after the man used his money to buy beer instead of rice whisky. Chalong Police led by Wichit Intorrasorn held a press conference at noon to announce…
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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