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 This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
-
South Africans confident of ‘Monkey Island’ Plan
PHUKET: Two South African conservationists who hope to open a Monkey Island primate sanctuary off Phuket paid a visit to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, but their goal to open the center as a new tourist attraction by the end of next year still has a lot of red tape to clear before becoming a reality.Zambian-born Tony Blignaut, CEO of Primates…
-
Police nab Supercheap employee killer
RASSADA: Phuket City Police yesterday morning announced the arrest of a man who confessed to the murder of his former boss at Supercheap on the bypass road on Tuesday night.Most of the details of the arrest were read out to the press in a statement by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit.The body of the victim, 34-year-old Supercheap employee Kanya Boonprajong, was…
-
Tsunami warning system improvements stalled
PHUKET: Plans for Thailand to launch two more “tsunameters” off the Andaman coastline to improve its tsunami warning system capability have become bogged down by red tape and technical problems, leaving only one direct detection unit in place as the fourth anniversary of the 2004 disaster nears. Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, who chairs the committee that directs the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster…
-
Suan Luang fish killers caught
PHUKET CITY: Scores of municipal workers have been working since Saturday morning to remove thousands of rotting fish from the main pond at Suan Luang Park, after a group of fishermen were caught using poison to kill and capture them on Friday night.An officer from Phuket City Municipality, who asked not to be named, told the Gazette that the municipal…
-
British tourist recovering after fall at Phuket resort
PHUKET: British tourist Dominic Chadwick who suffered neck injuries after a nasty fall at his hotel in Phuket is recovering nicely and is in good spirits.According to his Malaysian traveling companion, Dominic fell about eight feet when he was walking up a ramp towards an entrance to the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa after a night out. As he fell,…
-
Four die in weekend horror smashes
PA KHLOK: Four people were killed on Sunday night in two separate road accidents involving motorcycles. One of the victims was a five-year-old child. At about 7 pm on Sunday, two women and a boy – members of the same family – were killed after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a pickup truck on the Baan Para –…
-
B20m CCTV system for Rawai
RAWAI: As part of a bid to crack down on crime in the area, Rawai Municipality has been granted 20 million baht in central government funding for the installation of 32 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos made the announcement at an August 15 ceremony held to announce a range of crime-fighting initiatives in Rawai. Camera installation…
-
Tourism steady despite economic woes
PHUKET CITY: Despite global economic problems, tourism in Phuket continues to grow, with 4.79 million tourists having passed through Phuket International Airport since the beginning of the fiscal 2008, up 600,000 from the same period a year earlier. Anoma Thongyai, deputy director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region 4 Office in Phuket, revealed the figures at the…
-
Death truck driver’s confession halves 12-year jail sentence
RANONG: The driver of the truck in which 54 illegal Burmese immigrants suffocated while they were being transported from Ranong to Phuket on April 9 has been sentenced to a six-year jail term by Ranong Criminal Court. Phuket Police Commander Maj Gen Apirak Hongthong told the Gazette that the driver’s jail sentence was reduced from 12 to six years because…
-
Catch of the day
RASSADA: Phuket City Police yesterday morning took into custody a fugitive murder suspect from Trang as he was unloading fish at the pier on Koh Sireh. Phuket City Police Investigator Capt Jessada Janpum identified the fugitive as 25-year-old Jirasak Chamnankiat, who was a resident of tambon Natoming in Trang’s Muang District until he went on the run three months ago.…
-
Heartsick firefigher found hanged
PHUKET CITY: Police on August 14 discovered the decomposing corpse of a municipal firefighter who apparently hanged himself several days earlier. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Pol Lt Tada Sodarak identified the deceased as Apirat Sararat, a 30-year-old native of Pattani. Police were informed of Khun Apirat’s death by a 191 call placed by fellow residents of the firefighter’s dormitory…
-
Phuket to host “Cleanest Toilet” awards
PHUKET CITY: The Department of Public Health has chosen Royal Phuket City Hotel as the venue to present “The Cleanest Toilet in the South Awards”. Privvies are being polished around the south as 13 regional branches of the Public Health Ministry prepare to enter their public conveniences into the contest. The award event on August 20 will start with a…
-
More flights added to weekend Bangkok-Phuket service
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways has added more flights to its weekend Bangkok-Phuket service starting Friday August 15.The airline already operates a twice daily Bangkok-Phuket service; departing from Bangkok at 11.45am and 5.30pm and departing from Phuket at 1.50pm and 7.40pm.Flights PG 273 and PG 274 ( Airbus 320 with 162 seats ) have been added to the service and will fly…
-
Pet rottweilers kill their owners’ daughter
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The 2-year-old daughter of a Dutch expat and his Thai wife was mauled to death early this morning by the two rottweilers they kept as guard dogs at the family’s home in Nakhon Ratchasima.The mother, Jintana Ploo, who was seriously injured after trying to save her daughter from the two dogs, said her husband had raised the rottweilers…
-
Weapons cache discovered on Frenchman’s yacht
PHUKET: A man piloting a luxury yacht has been arrested by Phuket Marine Police officers after several guns and ammunition were found stashed aboard the boat he was operating.Investigating Marine Police officer Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Prasert Srikunrat told a press conference that the arrest came at 8 pm on Monday, after Thalang district volunteer police noticed people getting off…
-
Bikini shop bust nets B10m in counterfeit stash
PHUKET CITY: A bikini is normally donned to cover up a woman’s private parts, but a bikini-vending operation in downtown Phuket was found concealing something much larger, and with a different kind of value: a stash of more than 90,000 counterfeit T-shirts.Officers from the Police Region 8 Investigation Center raided a secret warehouse in the center of Phuket City Saturday…
-
Rawai mayor bullish on property picture
RAWAI: Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos estimates that investment in property projects in Rawai could reach as much as 2 billion baht this year.Mayor Aroon recently met with four prospective investors at Rawai Municipality Office to “clarify construction laws with regards to building new properties in Rawai”.The meeting is part of an initiative to boost tourism in places like Laem Phromthep,…
-
Amputee turtle recovering well
CAPE PANWA: An immature Olive Ridley sea turtle whose badly infected front left flipper had to be amputated by veterinarians at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in early June is recovering well at the center, where it is eating well on a diet of fish and squid. Named Hope by members of the Mai Khao Sea Turtle Foundation that…
-
Patrols help curb illegal trawling
PHUKET CITY: The number of fishing boats illegally trawling within Phuket’s three-kilometer exclusion zone has been greatly reduced thanks to stepped up patrols by authorities and good co-operation from local fishermen, the local Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) office has announced. Paitoon Panchaiyapoom, chief of the DMCR Region 4 Office in Phuket, said there have been just three…
-
Hundreds of turtles released in Mothers’ Day ceremony
CAPE PANWA: More than 300 baby green sea turtles were released into the sea at the Third Naval Area Command, Cape Panwa today (August 12) as a way of celebrating the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, which is also Mothers’ Day in Thailand. Students from schools in the Panwa area helped naval officers, municipality officers and staff from local resorts…
-
Funeral held for soldiers
RAWAI: Friends of Australian Jason Gerrard Flynn and James Plunkett Howe from the UK, whose bodies were discovered at a guesthouse in Rawai on July 28, attended a Buddhist funeral ceremony for both men on Sunday at Wat Sawang Arom temple in Rawai.The ex-servicemen were in their early 30s. They died unexpectedly overnight after celebrating during their last few days…
-
Bangkok prisoner’s cell phone orders prompt Phuket drug raid
PHUKET: A man incarcerated on drug charges at Klong Prem Central prison in Bangkok managed to order a bus to transport 3,000 ya bah (methamphetamines) pills to his son in Phuket from his prison cell. However, not everything went according to plan for the father-son duo.The Phuket Provincial Police drug suppression unit discovered 2,893 of the pills when they raided three…
-
OrBorJor targets bus service, hotel tax issue
PHUKET CITY: New projects launched by the new Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) include persuading more hotel owners to pay the controversial 1% hotel room tax and improving the OrBorJor bus service in and around Phuket City. OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising told the Gazette the initiatives fall under the OrBorJor policy to improve public services and promote tourism in the…
-
Truck crash on Patong Hill
PATONG: This 6-wheel Hino flatbed truck, which lost control on Phrabarami Rd in Patong at about 4 pm Wednesday afternoon, finally came to rest when it hit an electric power pylon.Under questioning at Kathu Police Station, the uninjured driver said his brakes failed.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark was first at the scene, directing traffic by himself while a tow…
-
Healthy growth for local television
PHUKET: After recently extending its network from local provincial cable and the Web, where PGTV appears as Number One in Google under the prime search term “Phuket Television”, the Phuket Gazette’s daily English-language television content has now been added in healthy doses to all patient rooms at Phuket International Hospital, and to the 15-inch touch-screen monitors on all of the…
-
Labor camp raided near Mai Khao
TAH CHAT CHAI: Some 50 police and local villagers raided a laborers’ camp beside a construction site near Mai Khao Beach Tuesday morning, taking into custody 82 male workers on charges of illegal entry into the Kingdom. As is commonly the case when such raids take place in Phuket, no employer was found or charged. Pol Lt Col Jamroon Plaiduong…
-
OrBorJor back in charge at Chalong Pier
CHALONG: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) was on August 1 back at the helm running operations at Chalong Pier after cutting ties with Chokaree Tour Co Ltd, the company previously enlisted to collect berthing fees and run the pier on the OrBorJor‘s behalf. A team led by OrBorJor Vice-President Chaowalit Na Nakorn visited the pier on August 1 to…
-
Cypriot MP calls on Gov Niran
PHUKET CITY: Cypriot MP and European Parliament Member Marios Matsakis on August 1 met with top Phuket officials to follow up on Phuket’s progress in disaster prevention measures since the 2004 tsunami. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit and Chotnarin Kerdsom, chief of the Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention (DDPM-Phuket), were both on hand to brief him. Mr Matsakis, who is…
-
Elderly Belgian hospitalized after roadside incident
PHUKET CITY: A morning cycle ride turned into a nightmare for a 68-year-old Belgian expat who was hospitalized after allegedly being knocked off his bicycle by a pickup truck and then set upon by the driver. Paul Cassiens was cycling along Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning when at 6:30 am his bike came into contact with a bronze Toyota…
-
Yachting events giant acquires PIMEX
PHUKET: World-class yachting events organizer Informa Yacht Group has acquired the Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX), adding Phuket’s premier boating exposition to its calendar of international yachting events.The announcement was made at a press conference at Royal Phuket Marina today, attended by more than 100 press and VIPs, to announce the opening of the new Royal Phuket Marina Exhibition and…
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.