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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Alleged cable thief busted in Phuket, accomplice possibly still at large
A Phuket man was arrested recently after he allegedly stole telephone and communications cables throughout the island. The man allegedly sold the cables for scrap near his house in Phang Nga. Wichit police and members of the Crime Suppression Region 5 and officials from the TOT company showed up at Chaturong Bhumlamnao’s house to arrest him. The TOT had previously…
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Burmese man arrested for rape and assault of Thai woman
A Burmese man accused of the assault and rape of a Thai woman he had hired as a maid has been arrested by Phuket City Police. The 42 year old man lives near the fishing port area in Rassada and was taken into custody after the Phuket Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant yesterday. The 47 year old woman from…
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Army provides food for the Rawai Sea gypsy community
The Royal Thai Army has set up a food kitchen for the Rawai sea gypsies as the community has been in lockdown since September 15. The lockdown will remain in place until September 28. The Royal Field Kitchen Car has been cooking and handing out food for almost 2 weeks now. They have travelled all over the island to bring…
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Phuket Covid-19 passes 60 deaths, 100 Sandboxers, 9,000 total cases
Several milestones were passed in Phuket regarding Covid-19 in the past few days as the death toll hit 60 while Sandbox infections passed 100, daily infections were over 250, and the total number of Covid-19 infections since the beginning of the third wave passed 9,000. More than 5,000 people have been released from medical care or supervision though. The past…
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Phang Nga asks for tourists to be allowed travel directly from Phuket airport
Phang Nga’s tourism operators are urging the government to allow foreign tourists to travel directly to the province from Phuket airport, skipping the 7+7 extension scheme. Pongsakorn Ketprapakorn from the Tourism Council of Phang Nga says tourists are being put off by the bureaucracy involved in the certificate of entry application process and the 7+7 scheme which mandates that tourists…
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Party at luxury villa in Phuket raided, homeowner allegedly assaults police officer
Over the weekend, a party at a luxury villa in Phuket was raided and 19 people were arrested. One officer was allegedly assaulted in the course of the raid. The house was raided in the early morning hours in the Rawai sub-district. Police arrived at the villa around 1am after being tipped off that an illegal gathering was taking place.…
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Phuket officials launch mass testing campaign in high-risk communities
Proactive mass testing is underway in Phuket communities with high infection rates, as officials attempt to curtail the spread of Covid-19 on the southern island. The Bangkok Post reports that 9 comprehensive Covid-19 response teams have been dispatched to the target areas. Provincial chief health officer Kusak Kukiattikun says the teams will use antigen test kits in an active case-finding…
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Phuket domestic travel rules need streamlining, officials discuss
Officials in Phuket met yesterday to consider ideas about how to ease travel restrictions for domestic travellers in hopes of enabling domestic tourism to grow. With current harsh restrictions, mostly people with an imminent need to travel in and out of Phuket can jump through the hoops to access the island. Many business owners say they have seen little benefit…
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Phuket Covid-19: 1 Phuket Prison death, 1 Sandbox infection
Phuket saw one new death and one new Covid-19 infection from an international traveller who entered the island as part of the Phuket Sandbox programme as daily numbers hold steady and hospital bed occupancy continues to worsen. The one death was of an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison, the second death that the prison has seen after a Covid-19 outbreak…
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Local businesses say they aren’t profiting from Phuket Sandbox
While large resorts and big businesses in Phuket might be seeing revenue from the Phuket Sandbox, interviews with small local businesses suggest they are seeing little to no benefit from the reopening with its strong restrictions. Most business owners agree there won’t be any real income for most until there is a full reopening with fewer rules and more nightlife…
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Phuket Covid-19: 235 daily infections, 238 hospital beds available
Phuket Covid-19 numbers held steady today with no deaths and 235 new infections, though that’s only 3 less than the total available hospital beds as 39 more people were hospitalised. Hospital bed occupancy is just below 89% now, though Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has insisted there is no shortage of beds. The number of “green” mild infections continues the drop…
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New centre proposed to provide ATKs cheap at Phuket entrance
To help aid people who need to travel frequently in and out of Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has approved a plan to create a centre near the Tha Chatchai Check Point that would provide ATKs. The plan would provide a cheap and easy way for those entering Phuket by land to provide a negative Covid-19 test before entering…
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Epidemiologists dispatched to Phuket to help curb the spread of Covid
Epidemiologists from Thailand’s Disease Control Department have been dispatched by the Ministry of Public Health to Phuket. The move is intended to help curb the spread of new Covid infections on the island; Phuket has regularly seen 200 cases a day over the last couple of weeks and hospital beds have reached 90% occupancy. Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kiattibhoom…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival gets “green light” to run from October 6 to 14
WARNING: The content below contains photos and videos of self-mutilation that some people may find disturbing. The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival has been given the “okay” to be held from October 6-14. For those who haven’t heard of the festival, it’s not exactly known for the vegetarian food. It’s actually a very spiritual celebration where some practice self-mutilation to enter…
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Ice delivery truck loses control on Phuket road, kills 1 and injures 3
A Ukrainian national was killed and 3 people were injured when a truck that delivers ice lost control on Thepkasattri Rd in Phuket this morning. The truck had crossed a median strip and rammed itself head-on into oncoming traffic. The ice truck then hit the Ukrainian woman on her motorbike and another truck. Police got to the scene around 7:30am.…
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3 deaths and 2 Sandbox Covid-19 infections today in Phuket
Today in Phuket 3 new deaths brought the September total to 23 and the overall total since April to 43, while 2 new Sandbox travellers were infected with Covid-19 and daily infections remain above 200 for the 17th day in a row. There was a slight decrease in hospitalised patients pushing the number of available beds up to 276, just…
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Phuket unveils new strategy for Covid-19, hospital shortages
After the release of official figures showing that Phuket is down to its last 10% of available beds for Covid-19 patients, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew announced a revamping of the province’s strategy on the pandemic. The governor also insists that there’s plenty of beds in the hospitals and there is no shortage despite what the official numbers and math show.…
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Phuket construction worker drowns after getting stuck under storm drain
A 40-ish year old construction worker was killed in Phuket yesterday after he got stuck under a section of a storm drain; he eventually downed after rescue efforts failed. The man had been working at a construction site for a flood protection project near the Patong Hospital. He has been identified only as “Mr Mahana” and the Pattaya news says…
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Lacking gov’t aid, Phuket nightlife advises opening as restaurants
The president of the Patong Entertainment Business Association took a harsh stance against the long-term closures of nightlife venues in Phuket and the lack of assistance from the government of Thailand. In a fiery interview, he called on bars and clubs to open as restaurants despite the action being legally dubious and chastised the government for the long-term closure without…
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Phuket Covid-19 totals: 40 dead, 91 Sandboxers, hospitals 90% full
Phuket has just about hit the 90% hospital bed occupancy rate as infections and hospitalisations climb with new beds not being added quickly enough to keep pace. There were 229 infections today, 20 less than yesterday, and no new deaths reported, though details were released of the 1 death confirmed yesterday. A 63 year old Thai man was the 40th…
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Phuket plans to set up 10 more isolation centres as Covid concerns linger
The escalating Covid situation in Phuket has prompted officials to establish 10 more isolation centres. Phuket’s governor, Narong Woonsiew said yesterday that the rise in infections mirrors the Covid situation in Bangkok 2 months ago. Phuket has been averaging 200+ Covid cases a day for the past 13 days (between 206 and 258 new daily infections), which “represents a serious…
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Phuket: Record 4 Covid-19 deaths in 1 day, hospitals nearly full
A record number of Covid-19 fatalities in Phuket today as last night’s Phuket Provincial Public Health Office report confirmed 4 deaths in 1 day. That marks 17 deaths in one week in Phuket, nearly doubling the total of deaths since the third wave of Covid-19 took hold at the beginning of April. In the 5 months since the start of…
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Phuket meeting urges national government on Covid-19 changes
A Phuket Provincial Hall meeting chaired by 3 advisors to Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow focused on 5 main issues of paramount importance to the people of Phuket and the tourism industry. The 3 advisors listened to the issues and are tasked with delivering details to key federal government officials back in Bangkok including the Deputy Prime Minister to report…
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Phuket: 2 deaths, 1 Sandbox infection, bed occupancy passes 80%
In the last week, Phuket has seen 13 fatalities due to Covid-19 with 2 new deaths reported today, as well as one new Phuket Sandbox international traveller infected. The daily infection numbers have declined for the third day in a row to 211, and the rolling 7-day infection numbers also fell slightly despite the island marking its 11th day in…
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Phuket officials keeping an eye out for crocodile, possibly a water monitor lizard
Phuket sandboxers have 1 more thing to keep track of as a crocodile may still be on the loose. Officials from the Sirinat National Park are still on the lookout for a crocodile in the region after a search yesterday did not uncover the scaly reptile. Officials speculate that the crocodile may actually be a water monitor lizard. Park officials…
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Phuket police raid gambling den in Wichit, arrest 15 people
In Cape Panwa, Wichit late last night, Phuket police raided and shut down an illegal gambling den and arrested 15 people there. The raid came just after midnight early this morning or late last night as Region 8 Police captured 14 people, all aged between 44 and 58 years old. The police also confiscated hundreds of green cards and orange…
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1 new Covid-19 death in Phuket, bed occupancy over 79%
Covid-19 daily infections in Phuket fell slightly to 219 today, while the death toll slowly climbs as one new fatality brings the total in the last 7 days to 11. Phuket has seen a total of 31 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the third wave of the pandemic at the start of April. A few more hospital beds…
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Officials talk turkey about size of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
With Covid-19 still infecting over 200 people per day in Phuket, organisers of the yearly Phuket Vegetarian Festival are fishing for an answer to how big the event planned for October 6 to 14 can be. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew said the event’s scale will be based on the Covid-19 situation in the days leading up to the festival. If…
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Phuket update: 30 total Covid-19 deaths with 10 in the last 4 days.
With 234 new Covid-19 cases reported, the total infections in the Phuket Sandbox inches to nearly 6,000, deaths have seen a sharp rise on the island. 2 new deaths reported last night to bring the total to 30 Covid-19 deaths since April, a jump of 50% since Sunday. Over the last 5 months, 20 people had died of Covid-19 in…
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Survey shows over half of Thai hotels are considering closing due to low demand
A survey conducted by the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Hotels Association shows that 52% of hotels are considering closing temporarily and 9% want to shut down for good. 62% plan to reduce their workforce costs as a result of the financial fallout from Covid-19, while 61% say they will cut expenditure elsewhere. The Bangkok Post reports that the…
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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