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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The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Buses the new solution to Phuket transport woes
PHUKET: Plans for a light rail system spanning Phuket have been scrapped in favor of the much cheaper option of scheduling new bus routes, it recently emerged. “We will no longer refer to this project as the light rail or monorail system project,” said Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. “We will now refer to it as the Bus Rapid Transit system…
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Monk kills monk
PHUKET: A monk was stabbed to death after boasting that the talismans (amulets) hanging from his neck made his skin impenetrable to weapons. Phra Sunantha Phongsu-wan, 44, died in hospital earlier this month from a single stab wound to his chest. Witnesses reported that the previous evening Phra Sunantha and his friend Phra Sathien Khamphira, 55, had been at Samnak…
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Doctor gunned down in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: A well known doctor was gunned down in a drive-by killing outside his own clinic in Phuket Town today. Police found the body of Dr Somchai Wongbunterng, 47, on the sidewalk outside Somchai International Clinic on Wichit Songkhram Road in Phuket Town around midday. He had been shot in the head. Phuket City Police Deputy Commander Komol Wattraporn…
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Aussie tourist on Phuket drugs rap
CHALONG, PHUKET: An Australian tourist was one of five drug suspects paraded by Chalong Police at a press conference in Phuket yesterday afternoon. Richard Beaver, 28, was allegedly caught with 0.9 grams of dry marijuana by police on Tuesday night. Mr Beaver was stopped on Soi Samakee 2 off Saiyuan Road at around 11:30pm. The tourist allegedly told police he…
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Dam fine: Phuket beauty spot gets overhaul
KATHU, PHUKET: Bang Wad Dam, one of Phuket’s most popular leisure spots, is getting a huge overhaul to turn it into a fully fledged recreational park. A project is underway to add a new drainage system, a new bike path, new landscaping and build what is being called “the most beautiful toilet in Phuket.” Overseeing the makeover is Phuket Irrigation…
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News Hound: Protests waning, Phuket remains quiet
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: Protesters spilled what they say is their own blood at the gates of Thailand’s Government House late yesterday in what canada.com described as “a colourful act of political…
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Phuket’s Ironman to climb Mont Blanc – for local charity
PHUKET: Les Bird’s teeth are clenched, muscles taut and body drenched in sweat as he sprints the last leg of his training hike to the summit of Nakkerd Hill in Chalong. As he heaves off his 40 kilogram bag and glances at his watch, Les scolds himself for finishing his training hike in under an hour. “I need to slow…
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Phuket vaccination drive for cats and dogs
PHUKET : More than 100 injection centers have been set up across the island in a drive to vaccinate Phuket’s dogs and cats against rabies. The livestock office-led campaign began on February 16 and will wrap up April 28. Centers are operating daily except for weekends and public holidays. “Instances of infection in dogs seem to be on the decline,”…
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Norwegian’s nose broken in Phuket punch-up
KATA, PHUKET: A 69-year-old Norwegian tourist sustained a fractured nose and other facial injuries after he was reportedly attacked while enjoying his morning coffee in Phuket on March 12. Kristian Kristiansen claims he was sitting on the porch of his ground floor room at Moon Shine Apartments in Kata when he was approached by a leather-clad Thai man with long…
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Phuket NEWS Hound: Protest Updates
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. Thai Prime Minister won’t step down PHUKET: Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva appeared on national television yesterday to reject a demand from demonstrators that he resign by midday and call…
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Phuket tourism industry unfazed
PHUKET: The tourism industry in Phuket has not been affected by the red shirt protests in Bangkok, according to the vice president of the Phuket Tourist Association. Mr Krisada Tansakul said the island-wide hotel occupancy rate is at about 65%. “That’s good compared to the March rate last year,” he said. “Patong is faring especially well with a rate of…
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FC Phuket top of the league
PHUKET: FC Phuket are top of Division Two (southern section) after an emphatic 2-0 victory over previous league leaders Satun Utd on Saturday. Even more encouraging for FC Phuket fans – who turned out in record numbers to support their team at Surakul Stadium – was the manner of the performance, with the Sea Kirin dominating the game from start…
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Body identification easier after Phuket tsunami
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: The slow body identification process that occurred in Phuket after the 2004 tsunami has motivated researchers in Perth to build a database of skeletons to help identify bodies…
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Phuket calm, but red shirts alarm Bangkok
PHUKET: The Thai government will likely enforce a state-of-emergency decree today to cope with the escalating security problem in Bangkok after tens of thousands of provincial protesters arrived in the capital yesterday. A state of emergency, which would be on top of the current implementation of the Internal Security Act (ISA), would empower the military to fully take charge of…
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Phuket caddies end protest
KATHU, PHUKET: Some 200 golf caddies at the Loch Palm golf course in Phuket have ended a two-day protest over the dismissal of their ‘caddy master’. Most are now back to work. The women, who began their sit-in protest at 4:30am on Thursday, originally insisted they would not return to work at the course in Kathu until the man was…
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Protests well underway in Bangkok
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: Tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers have been deployed to maintain calm in Bangkok as red-shirted protesters prepare to convert their current “rally” into demonstrations against…
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March blood drive in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society has announced the following dates and times for its mobile donation clinics for March: March 16 (1pm to 4pm): Banthai Beach Resort & Spa, Patong March 18 (1pm to 4pm): Andaman Cannacia Resort & Spa, Kata March 19 (1pm to 4pm): Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa, Patong March 25…
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Phuket’s Nai Harn buzzing with bikers
RAWAI, PHUKET: Nai Harn Beach was bustling with bikers last night as riders from around Phuket kicked off the first annual Nai Harn Bike Event. The two-day party welcomes all biking enthusiasts and showcases the most impressive motorcycles on the island, whether traditional or modified. Hogs on show include Harley Davidson Choppers, Fat Boys and Heritage Softails, as well as…
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Jazz dinner in Phuket: philanthropy in full swing
PHUKET: Making a special Phuket appearance, the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra hits town for two nights in the last two weeks of March. Performances are scheduled for March 20 at the Adamas Resort and Spa on Nai Yang Beach and March 27 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. The popular big band orchestra is led by founder and veteran trumpet…
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Phuket set for historical extravaganza
THALANG, PHUKET: The year’s first performance of ‘Thalang Light and Sound’, a grand re-enactment of the Battle of Thalang featuring a cast of 700, will take place in Phuket tomorrow night. The historical extravaganza has been organized by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization at a cost of six million baht. It will run from 8pm to 9:30pm at Thalang Victory Memorial…
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Tourists to be routed to 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: Government sectors have teamed up to create the National Tourist Assistance Center (NTAC) to help tourists during the current mass rally against the government in Bangkok. Conducted by…
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Police enlist public as Phuket’s eyes and ears
PHUKET: Fearing that political groups may try to cause disruptions in Phuket during the red shirt demonstrations in Bangkok, the police are enlisting members of the public as their roving eyes and ears. Through a project called ‘News for Security’, the police are asking citizens to spot suspicious packages and unusual behavior, and to report it to the authorities. This…
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Phuket Chinese cemetery ablaze again
PHUKET TOWN: Firefighters used almost 9,000 liters of water to put out flames that raged in the Chinese cemetery on Rang Hill in Phuket Town today. Ten firefighters in three trucks rushed to the scene after the fire started at about 1pm. It took them around half an hour to bring the inferno under control. Arthit Phromsiri, head of the…
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Phuket red shirts head to Bangkok
PHUKET: More than one thousand Phuket red shirts have reportedly left the island to take part in mass demonstrations in Bangkok. A local leader of the red-shirt United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) movement, Soonthorn Tohmharn, said there would be no demonstrations in Phuket. A huge UDD protest in Bangkok is set to take place tomorrow afternoon in a…
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Phuket’s new reservoir project: Klong Krata
CHALONG, PHUKET: The Klong Krata Reservoir project has been delayed by several months while the agency responsible awaits approval to use Forest Department land needed for construction. The 600-million-baht project will see the construction of a 25-meter-high dam spanning 730 meters across the existing Klong Krata stream, creating a 430-rai reservoir and recreational area. The Klong Krata catchment area comprises…
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NEWS Hound: New property tax moots exemptions for 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: The Fiscal Policy Office has completed drafting a new Land and Building Tax Law which requires owners of non-commercial land and buildings to pay tax of no more…
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No takers for Phuket beach guard contract
PHUKET: Despite sweetening the terms of reference, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) has once again failed to attract a single bidder for the tender to supply lifeguards at the island’s beaches. An officer at the PPAO supply unit yesterday confirmed that although two companies purchased the bid plans, they failed to show at the scheduled bid opening date on…
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Tehran-Phuket flights begin soon
PHUKET: A Bangkok-based tour company will run three direct charter flights from Tehran to Phuket on a trial basis beginning March 18. The company, Homa Travel & Tour, has chartered a Mahan Air Boeing 747 for the service, Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Dubai Office Director Pramote Sapyen announced. The three flights could bring in around 1,300 tourists from Iran this…
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Frenchman fleeced in Phuket banking bungle
CHALONG, PHUKET: A Frenchman is demanding damages from his Thai bank after it let another man with the same name empty his account of at least 164,000 baht. One day last November, Claude Alfred Francois Marie Prigent walked into the Siam Commercial Bank branch in Chalong and asked for a new ATM card and bank book. The bank obliged. But…
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Four arrested for aquarium fish smuggling in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Four residents of a Sea Gypsy community in Rawai were arrested yesterday for smuggling protected marine species. The suspects, 34-year-old Pichit Bangjak and three minors, were arrested at 11am in a pickup truck parked along Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada, near the Phuket Highways Department Office. A search of foam coolers in the bed of the truck uncovered 250…
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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