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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Wanted for TV: Property reports from Brits and Thais
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that ITV, the oldest and largest commercial television network in the UK, is currently making a prime-time, one-hour documentary about British people who own a property abroad. The program will feature a wide range of experiences from individuals buying or building holiday homes or a permanent residence overseas. It will air on ITV1 early…
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Annual “turtle’ festival underway
PHUKET CITY: The incessant rain today did not stop Phuket City’s ethnic Chinese from turning out en masse to pay their respects to the dead on the first day of the annual “Por Tor” festival.The festival, officially opened by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at 1 pm, saw hundreds lighting joss sticks and offering cakes in the shapes of turtles, the…
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Bitter lover murders rival
PHUKET CITY: A birthday party turned bloody in the early hours of Monday morning when local painter Sorapong Waimitta, 28, was stabbed to death in what police believe was a love crime.Lt Col Somkid Boonrat, investigation inspector at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that K. Sorapong was drinking with his brother and about 10 male friends, one of…
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ATM card scanners found in Patong
PATONG: Police are warning credit card and bank card holders to exercise caution when using ATMs and other “swipe” machines in Patong after an ATM on Soi Bangla was found fitted with devices capable of recording card data and pin numbers.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark told the Gazette that Patong police received a call from an English tourist about…
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Bank, Bass, Boss make Sgt Major’s day
PHUKET CITY: Staff at the maternity ward at Vachira Phuket Hospital received a treat on Sunday when Pol Sgt Maj Supat Ruangsri and his wife K. Thipawan arrived to have their triplets delivered.The couple arrived from their home in Phang Nga Town after K. Thipawan, who was eight months pregnant, started having contractions about two hours earlier.Sgt Maj Supat, an…
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Floyd still standing
PATONG: Keith Floyd, renowned British celebrity chef and owner of Floyd’s Brasserie at Burasari Resort, flew home this morning as planned in order to continue with his UK theater roadshow Floyd Uncorked – putting paid to rumors that he is suffering ill health.Rumors about Floyd’s health began circulating after he collapsed on Saturday evening while taking time out from cooking…
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ICEC location down to two sites
PHUKET CITY: After studying four proposed locations for the long-awaited Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC), project investor ING Funds (Thailand) Co Ltd has whittled the field down to just two sites: Anuphas and Sons’ 250 rai off Chao Fa West Rd in Wichit and 130 rai of government land at Tah Chat Chai.The announcement was made at a…
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Island authorities sign trash management MOU
PHUKET: With the island’s only landfill perilously close to capacity and its sole incinerator incapable of burning even half the volume of trash sent to it every day, all of Phuket’s 18 local administrations on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pledging to tackle the mounting problem through trash separation and recycling.The signing ceremony, at the Royal Phuket City…
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Rough seas sink ferry
PHUKET: A ferry carrying 34 passengers and four crew sank yesterday afternoon, with all aboard left floating in the sea off Koh Phai until they were rescued by the Krabi Marine Police.Krabi Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Phuwadol Vudduccanok identified the vessel as Sea Breeze 2, owned by the Phi Phi Island Cabana Hotel.While awaiting rescue, all passengers and…
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Murray released on bail
PHUKET: Six weeks after Englishman David Murray was charged with the murder without intent in the death of his eight-year-old stepson, Narid “Curly” Budtharai, he is out on bail with a court date yet to be set.Angered by the slow response, Curly’s natural father Pissanu Badtharai asked for support from the Bangkok-based Pavena Foundation for abused women and children. The…
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AOT slashes number of airport limousines
PHUKET: The Phuket Limousine and Business service Cooperative (PBC) is seeking support from the provincial government after Airports of Thailand Public Co Ltd (AOT) slashed the number of vehicles it is allowed to operate at the airport from 150 to just 90 under a new concession. At an August 15 meeting with Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha, PBC President Manode Chupak…
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Rubber vendor killed in mystery shooting
THALANG: In a crime that police have no suspect and no motive for, a man died on his way to hospital after being shot in the back while riding his motorcycle on Srisoonthorn Rd on Sunday afternoon. About 3 pm, a local villager alerted police of a man lying on the sidewalk near the first corner of the road to…
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Phuket votes “yes’ to new Constitution
PHUKET: In yesterday’s national referendum of the draft constitution, Phuket residents overwhelmingly accepted the new charter with 88.9% of all those voting in favor compared to just 9.6% opposed.The remaining ballots, just under 1.5%, were deemed as spoiled.The official results were posted by the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) on a board outside the PEC counting center at Saphan Hin Gymnasium…
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Good news for gun enthusiasts
KATHU: A three-story building under construction on the eastern side of Patong Hill will become Phuket’s third shooting range, the Gazette has learned.Work on the 45-million-baht Patong Shooting Range is about 70% complete, said project owner Somchit Sucharitjiravongse.Honorary Secretary of the Trang Chamber of Commerce, K. Somchit is a shooting enthusiast who has represented Thailand in international competitions. He aims to help…
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Kathu concrete factory scrapped
KATHU: Construction of a controversial Siam Cement concrete factory in a residential area of Kathu has been scrapped following objections by local residents.Montri Promrit, chief of Kathu Municipality Public Works and Town & Country Planning Division, told the Gazette that Siam Cement bought about two rai of land on Phra Phuket Kaew Rd in Kathu in 2005 and leveled the…
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Heavy rain set to continue
PHUKET: Phuket residents won’t need to worry about watering their lawns for the next week, as the downpours the island is experiencing are expected to continue.The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) 24-hour weather forecast for Phuket from 7 am today is for isolated heavy rains and widespread thundershowers covering 80% of the area.Moderate southwesterly monsoon winds of 20 to 35kmh…
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No alcohol ban for referendum
PHUKET: Entertainment venues will be allowed to operate right throughout the weekend, regardless of the referendum on the draft constitution on Sunday, with no restrictions on the sale of alcohol.Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch today told the Gazette that bars and nightclubs could open for business as normal, as police would not seek their “cooperation” in refraining…
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80-80 rugby to return to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Adisak Hemyoo, honorary secretary of Thai Rugby Union (TRU), today confirmed that 80-80 rugby will return to Phuket with an international tournament on the island from November 16 to 23.Teams from Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka, as well as from big guns Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, have all confirmed to take part, along with…
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US donates bomb blanket to Phuket police
PATONG: A US Embassy official yesterday morning presented a “bomb blanket” to Kathu Police Station in a ceremony attended by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch.Scott Bernat, Chief of the Naval Security Force Protection Detachment at the US Embassy in Bangkok, told the Gazette that the blanket – technically known as a “bomb suppression blanket” – is made…
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Fears rise over potential dengue outbreak
PHUKET CITY: A nine-year-old boy is suspected of becoming the latest victim of dengue fever in Phuket. If the disease is confirmed, he will be the third person in Phuket killed by the disease this year.The boy, Aniwat Madtai, lived in Koh Kaew and died at Vachira Phuket Hospital August 4.The tests to determine if dengue hemorrhagic fever was the…
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Phuket enjoys strong tourist “low-season’
PHUKET: This year’s green season has seen a healthy increase in the number of holidaymakers visiting Phuket, said Suwalai Pinpradab, director of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Southern Region 4 Office.Hotel occupancy rates are reportedly about 80%, marking a 20% to 30% increase on last year, with Patong being one of the busiest places on the island, according to TAT…
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OrBorJor launches express van service at Phuket airport
PHUKET (Nation): The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) today launched a shuttle van service between Phuket International Airport and downtown Phuket City.Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha chaired the launch ceremony of the service, operated by the Phuket Vehicle Service Cooperative.V/Gov Tri said the van service was launched following tourists’ complaints that existing bus services were slow and often delayed as bus…
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Korean tour operators shy away from action on illegal guides
PHUKET CITY: Only eight of 57 Korean tour operators invited by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to discuss the hotly-debated topic of illegal Korean tour guides in Phuket were represented at a meeting on Tuesday organized by Phuket Governor Niran Kanlayanamit’s office.Being a tour guide is a profession reserved for Thais, yet many Koreans continue to…
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Police raid tea shop, hookahs seized
PHUKET CITY: During a raid of the Khiew-Tong cafe on Thalang Rd yesterday evening, police found 16 minors smoking flavored tobacco through a hookah.The 10 males and six females, all under 18, were arrested and later released to their parents. The shop owner, Phuket native Veerasak Abdulla, 49, was charged with aiding or abetting a minor to engage in wrongful…
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Student shot dead with pen-gun
PHUKET: A birthday party at a restaurant near Soi Pisanu in Village 1, Wichit, turned deadly in the early hours of Sunday, when an 18-year-old girl was shot dead during a petty squabble.Phuket Deputy Police Commander Col Chalit Tinthanee told reporters that Jutarat Naksri, a student at Phuket Technology College, had been out drinking at the restaurant to celebrate a…
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Man charged with strangling mother-in-law
CHERNG TALAY: A man has confessed to strangling his mother-in-law after she chastised him for being lazy.Neighbors of Srila Kanchorn, 52, a native of Phayao, found her body lying face-up in a coconut plantation in Baan Pasak about 9 am yesterday. She was dressed in a yellow shirt and light blue sports pants.Cherng Talay Police Investigation Inspector Lt Col Jetsada…
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Welcome Gate to officially open
TAH CHAT CHAI: More than three years after it was initially conceived, the Phuket Welcome Gate will have its grand opening ceremony on the auspicious date of September 9. The gate, proposed and championed by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutra, will welcome tourists onto the island with a history of the province and a rest stop area.The…
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Call for more organ donors
PHUKET: Senior figures of the Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society and Patong Hospital on August 3 called for more people to sign up as organ donors. The announcement was made at the “Organ and Blood Donations Devote Life to Mother and Nations” blood donation drive at Jungceylon, where in five hours 94 people donated blood that will…
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Three murder victims wash up
PHUKET: Police recovered the bodies of three men last week, the victims of apparently unrelated murders and all assumed to have been Burmese laborers. The first body was discovered at about 7 am on July 29 at the port area in Rassada. The victim, dressed in a blue shirt and blue Chinese-style trousers, had a large stab wound to the…
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TDA teaches sea gypsies to dive
RAWAI: Twenty villagers from Rawai’s sea gypsy community are taking part in a five-day dive course that kicked off with a ceremony Thursday morning presided over by Minister of Tourism and Sports Dr Suwit Yodmanee.The training, being held jointly by the Thai Diving Association (TDA) and the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, is intended to give the sea…
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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