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.
-
Sponsored Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
-
Phuket sea gypsies to get Bt2mn culture center
RASSADA, PHUKET: A two-million-baht cultural center at a sea gypsy village close to Phuket City has been given the go-ahead, a spokesman for the Phuket Provincial Culture Office announced on Tuesday.Planning for the Urak Lawoi Culture Center at Ban Tukkae sea gypsy village on Koh Sireh, in Tambon Rassada, is still in its early stages and a contractor has yet…
-
Autism treatment success at Phuket hospital
PHUKET CITY: Vachira Phuket Hospital says it is successfully treating children with autism using a treatment known as ‘hyperbaric oxygen therapy’ (HBOT). HBOT patients spend periods inside a ‘hyperbaric chamber’ – the same sort of high-pressure oxygen chamber commonly used by divers for decompression and treatment of the bends. Parents of children who have completed a course of HBOT at…
-
Crown Prince arrives in Phuket today
PHUKET: HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, together with Royal Consort HRH Princess Srirasmi and HRH Prince Teepangkorn Rasmichoti, arrives in Phuket today on an unofficial visit.The Crown Prince and his family will leave the island at 3pm on September 29 via Phuket International Airport, where he will grant an audience to the people.Anyone who wants to attend is advised to…
-
Bids invited for Phuket jet-ski insurance contract
PHUKET CITY: Insurance companies have 15 days to submit bids for a contract to insure every jet-ski on Phuket, it was announced at the latest ‘jet-ski summit’ at Phuket Provincial Hall today. By November 8 – thirty days after the bid deadline – every operator in Phuket will have to apply for insurance or stop doing business. For our previous…
-
Huge contingent of US sailors arrives in Phuket
PHUKET: Almost 7,000 US Navy sailors arrived in Phuket this afternoon on board the enormous aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as the USS Chancellorsville and the USS Gridley.The crew will enjoy five days of R&R on Phuket – though they have been forbidden from using the island’s increasingly infamous jet-skis.Look out for a report from on board the…
-
Phuket people wish His Majesty a speedy recovery
PHUKET: Following His Majesty the King’s admission to Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok on Saturday, a book has been placed outside the Phuket Governor’s office at Phuket Provincial Hall for people to sign and wish His Majesty well. According to statements issued by the Royal Household Bureau, His Majesty was admitted to Siriraj Hospital with a high fever and has been…
-
Wake for Bill Owen
RAWAI, PHUKET: A wake will be held at Nikitas on the Rawai beach road tomorrow night (Tuesday, September 22) for long term Phuket resident Bill Owen, who died on Tuesday last week. Mr Owen, a popular entrepreneur who made his home on Phuket for more than 20 years, died in a hospital in Swansea, South Wales after a battle with…
-
Phuket Excise Office closes big bike loophole
PHUKET: The Phuket Excise Office says big bike owners have until September 25 to pay excise on motorcycles assembled from parts – or face hefty fines. Motorcycles subject to prohibitive tariffs have long been assembled from parts by ‘grey market’ operators in order to avoid paying the tax. Now excise officials insist the owners of such vehicles – not the…
-
Pedal power proves popular in Phuket
PHUKET: Environmental awareness was given a boost in Phuket on Sunday when about 250 Phuket cyclists took a tour of the island in support of Phuket Car Free Day.The cyclists, all dressed in orange shirts provided by Phuket City Municipality, pushed off from Phuket Provincial Hall at 9am with a send-off from Phuket Provincial Energy Office director Jirasak Thommayet.The cyclists…
-
Turtle found dead on Phuket’s Patong Beach
PATONG, PHUKET: A sea turtle was found dead on Patong Beach in front of Impiana Phuket Cabana Resort & Spa about 6am on Saturday. The olive ridley turtle, found by members of the hotel staff, measured about 50cm long by 43cm wide. Marine Biologist Phaothep Cherdsukjai from the Phuket Marine Biological Center at Cape Panwa said he expected “the turtle…
-
Phuket gears up for the ‘ultimate beach party’
KARON, PHUKET: Phuket is about to witness the birth of its very own dance music festival – ‘Roy Fest’, which debuts on Karon Beach this weekend. In Southern Thai, ‘roy‘ means ‘fun’, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is hoping the more than 50 international DJs and musicians it has booked for Roy Fest will help the party live…
-
Industry experts warm up for Hospitality Show
PHUKET: The region’s hospitality industry is heating up for the first International Hospitality Show, to be held at the RPM International Exhibition & Conference Center in Phuket from September 24 to 26. The three-day event will include a trade exhibition featuring: suppliers from all areas of hospitality; a demonstration forum, the Phuket Culinary Fair; and various industry-specific seminars. Exhibits will…
-
Phuket workshop prepares for disaster
PATONG, PHUKET: “How can communities best prepare themselves for disaster?” was the question posed to participants at an international workshop held earlier this week in Patong.The Sixth Practitioners’ Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and the Pacific was held over three days, September 15-17, and brought together some 190 “influential people” from 26 countries – representing governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and…
-
Phuket jet-skis: agreement reached on insurance scheme
PATONG, PHUKET: Phuket jet-ski operators will have to get accident insurance for their vehicles or cease doing business on Phuket’s beaches, it was agreed at the key ‘jet-ski summit’ in Patong today. Inside the packed meeting hall at Patong Municipality today were Vice Governor Smith Palawatvichai, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong, Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark, Deputy Mayor of…
-
Swine flu crisis abating in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Thanks to continuing measures to prevent the spread of swine flu, Phuket’s authorities believe the crisis is abating. Rapid spread this year of the flu, formally identified as ‘novel influenza virus A (H1N1)’, led the World Health Organization (WHO) – for the first time since 1968’s Hong Kong flu – to declare a global pandemic. In Phuket, two…
-
Company faces prosecution for Phuket jet-ski show
PHUKET CITY: The Thai television company responsible for producing the Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand series, which featured footage of an alleged jet-ski scam on Phuket, is to be prosecuted, the Bangkok Post reported today. The managers of Black Sheep Productions, which produced the show, could face 12 months in jail and fines of up to a million baht, the…
-
World’s oldest man a teenager again
PHUKET: The world’s oldest living man, Luang Pu Supha, a revered abbot who lives in Chalong, Phuket, is celebrating his 113th birthday today. His landmark birthday makes him a teenager for the second time. The festivities are taking place at his Phuket temple, just off Chao Fa Road West in Chalong. Luang Pu Supha is reputed to have been born on…
-
Phuket UFOs still a mystery – or are they?
PHUKET CITY: The Department of Medical Sciences in Bangkok continues to puzzle over the small transparent spheres a Phuket family claim ‘dropped from the sky’ onto their roof earlier this month. Spokesperson Wiriya Panwat told the Gazette, “We still don’t know what they are,” adding that the results of the department’s tests on the objects would not be released until…
-
One-Two-Go crash remembered on Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: On the second anniversary of the One-Two-Go air crash at Phuket International Airport [PIA], two survivors of the accident held a private ceremony of remembrance on the island today.Marcel Squinobal and Christoph Salchetti, who were both on the plane when it crashed, flew all the way from Germany to pay their respects to their friends Andreas Adelhard and Sabine Schumacher,…
-
Bill Owen: Farewell to a great friend of Phuket
PHUKET: The passing of Bill Owen leaves his many Phuket friends in great sadness. His battle with lung cancer came to an end at a hospital in Swansea, South Wales, the city where he started life 59 years ago. Bill came to Phuket 22 years ago, in October 1987, on a brief visit after attending a friend’s wedding in New…
-
No ban on Phuket marinas
PHUKET: Asked by a number of readers to check on a report that there is now a ban on further marina and pier development projects in Phuket, the Gazette has today obtained confirmations that such is not the case. According to both the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) and the Office of the Governor of Phuket, with whom…
-
A Life Remembered”¦ A tribute to Keith Floyd
PHUKET: Following the death of renowned celebrity chef Keith Floyd in the UK earlier this week, a memorial moment will be held on Thursday evening at Floyd’s Brasserie, Burasari Resort in Patong. The memorial event is scheduled from 5pm to 7pm. Drinks and snacks will be available and there will be a video presentation of the late chef. Guests will…
-
Trawling fingered as threat to Phuket dolphins
PHUKET: Trawling by fishermen in the seas off Phuket and other parts of Thailand has led, it is charged, to the deaths of around 20 dolphins since the beginning of this year.Two more turned up dead last week in Satun province, on the southern border with Malaysia, and one was found on Saturday, badly injured in the surf off Nai…
-
Seven-year-old drowns in Phuket pool
RASSADA, PHUKET: An unsupervised seven-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at the Top Land housing estate on Saturday.Police were alerted to the incident about 2pm by residents of the estate, located near the Tungka elementary school in tambon Rassada.They rushed to the scene with emergency workers and found the boy, identified as Prawit Manapreecha-ngamlert, a student at Ketho School,…
-
Phuket based celebrity chef Keith Floyd passes away
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that Phuket-based celebrity chef Keith Floyd, owner of Floyd’s Brasserie at Burasari Resort Patong, Phuket, has died following a heart attack on Monday at his home in Dorset in the UK.He was 65 years old. — Gazette Reporters
-
Bill Owen has passed away
PHUKET: Bill Owen, the founder of The Travel Company and, later, the events management firm Oriental Leisure, passed away in hospital earlier this morning in Swansea, South Wales. The popular entrepreneur had been a Phuket resident for more than 20 years and was best known for his enthusiasm about Thailand and southeast Asian travel, and for his zest for life.…
-
Air crash simulation at Phuket Airport
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: A full-scale air crash simulation took place at Phuket International Airport this morning under the banner of the Emergency Plan Exercise 2009. From 9.00am to 12pm officials from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Phuket Provincial Police, Tourist Police, Marine Police, airline staff and other local government and private sector agencies combined efforts to evaluate their readiness…
-
Phuket public transport goes Paiboon pink
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Paiboon Upatising was ‘tickled pink’ to present a new fleet of buses to the media today. The new 16-million-baht fleet is painted bright pink – Mr Paiboon’s campaign color. Eight of the 16 new songtaew (two-row) buses started services today, and will be joined by the remaining eight in two months. The new…
-
JJ in new Phuket jet-ski dispute
PATONG, PHUKET: New footage has emerged showing Phuket’s infamous jet-ski man, Winai ‘JJ’ Naiman, in another dispute with marines – this time from the US Navy. The video, released by British TV producer Gavin Hill, shows police officers standing by as Thai jet-ski operators demand cash for damage to a vehicle. The footage ends with one US serviceman handing over…
-
Phuket license plate goes for 800,000 baht
PHUKET: A man paid 800,000 baht for a single license plate at the Department of Land Transport’s 5th Annual License Plate Auction at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket City last weekend.Kampanat Thantiwat was the winning bidder for the plate ‘Kor Tor 9999′, the most expensive at the auction.Department of Land Transport Director General Chairat Sa-nguanchuen presided over the event, which was…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.