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...
-
Phuket to scoop 20 million baht booty a day after Patong gets green light to party
Cha-ching! The familiar sound of the cash register is about to ring once again after pubs, bars, and entertainment venues at Patong beach got the green light to reopen. Patong Entertainment Association expects to earn between 10 to 20 million baht per night after the beach resort on the west coast of Phuket Island got the go-ahead to reopen its…
-
Phuket authorities launch campaign against dengue fever in schools
Now that Thailand’s new school year has started last week, Phuket’s authorities are on their guard for dengue fever. On Thursday, the Public Health and Environment Division of Phuket City Municipality brought fogging machines to schools, kindergardens, and vocational colleges, to fight mosquitos. Phuket hasn’t had dengue outbreaks in recent years, however, a Songkhla doctor warned this week that the…
-
Phuket Food Festival 2022 will feature hemp recipies
As Phuket hosts Thailand’s biggest light festival, Aqua Lumina, another event on the island province is on the way next week. Phuket’s Food Festival 2022 will start on May 28 (Saturday) and run until June 5. It will be held at Saphan Hin Centre Stage area, on the east side of Phuket Town, from 4pm – 11pm every night. This…
-
Thailand’s biggest light festival kicks off on Phuket shores
Thailand’s biggest light festival arrived on the shores of Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach yesterday. Officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand welcomed partiers to the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival with, as you’d expect, lots of colourful lights. The Phuket edition of the festival is set to last until May 31. Aqua Lumina’s theme in Phuket is “Land of the Guardians…
-
Love drugs found in hotel of Aussie man who plunged to his death
Thai police yesterday concluded there was no foul play involved in the death of Billy James Simmons who died Tuesday after he fell from his hotel room balcony. Local police in Phuket established after an investigation that the death of the 22 year old Australian was an accident. The Aussie backpacker was found dead on Tuesday evening around 10pm by…
-
Thai officials vow to solve household debt problem at Phuket event
Thai officials held a ‘Household Debt Reconciliation Fair’ in Phuket yesterday. At the event, Thailand’s Minister of Justice Somsak Thepsutin said the government has designated 2022 as the “Year of Solving Household Debt”. He said that 2,810 people had registered for the event. Somsak said that several government departments have organised events to “facilitate the mediation process of household debts…
-
Thailand’s biggest light festival is headed to Phuket
After it began last week in Krabi, Thailand’s biggest light festival, known as the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival, is headed towards Phuket. The festival will dazzle the shores of Nai Harn Beach from this coming Friday until May 31. The festival in Phuket will display lit up sculptures and multimedia shows, as well as projection mapping with 3D images with…
-
22 year old Australian found dead at hotel in Phuket
An Australian traveller plunged to his death after falling from an 11th storey hotel room at The Royal Paradise Resort Hotel and Spa, in Patong district of Phuket. The body of the lifeless man, identified as Billy James Simmons, was found on the footpath below his room, lying face up. The 22 year old’s body was discovered by the hotel’s…
-
Government says relaxed travel restrictions have led to tourism surge on Phuket, Samui
The Thai government is patting itself on the back for the decision to ease entry restrictions, which officials say has boosted tourism in places like Phuket and Koh Samui. “All this is due to the government’s move to ease travel restrictions during the country’s high season between March and May.” So says government spokesman, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, pointing out that up…
-
UPDATE: German woman found in Phuket
UPDATE: The missing German woman, who had been missing for 7 days, has now been found. 75 year old tourist Barbara Elisabeth Monika Glag Lange was found safe in the the Sirinat National Park along the northern west coast of Phuket. Last week it was reported that the lady had headed off for a morning walk from her hotel in Mai…
-
Elderly German woman still missing in Phuket as search enters seventh day
Search parties in Phuket are still no closer to finding an elderly German woman who has now been missing for 7 days. Barbara Elisabeth Monika Glag Lange is thought to have Alzheimer’s, according to a Nation Thailand report. She disappeared from her hotel in Mai Khao, north of Phuket International Airport, last Monday. District officials, village chiefs, as well as…
-
Phuket tourism hopes for cash flow from the long weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office, is hoping for cash to flow over this 4 day weekend (Friday was a public service holiday for Ploughing Day and tomorrow is the substitute holiday for today’s Visaka Bucha Day). TAT Phuket’s director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, said yesterday that the average hotel room occupancy rate is 44.5%, and it’s expected to jump to…
-
Big storm plunders homes in Patong
A storm of fierce rain and wind caused several large trees to fall down and plunder 3 houses in Patong on Phuket’s west coast yesterday. No injuries were reported, and staff from the local Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office arrived to cut and remove the trees from the area. But photos by The Phuket Express revealed that the houses were…
-
Thailand’s public health officials proposing ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ to legally reopen nightlife
Thailand is getting closer and closer to the endemic phase of its Covid response. Achingly slow but now with at least a proposal to be tabled at the next CCSA meeting. The Ministry of Public Health will propose ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ as a plan to allow entertainment venues to legally reopen in 3 tourist islands including Phuket, Koh Chang, and Koh…
-
UPDATE: New details emerge on missing German tourist in Phuket
THE LATEST Phuket police are still on the lookout for the German tourist who reportedly went missing from a hotel in Thalang district on Monday (May 9). The 76 year old woman was originally only identified as Ms. Barbara, however the Thalang district police chief has now told The Phuket Express that her full name is Barbara Elisabeth Monika Glag…
-
Phuket’s THB4.5 Billion Andamanda Project Set to Open
Thailand’s newest integrated resort, the Andamanda Phuket will soft open next week on 21st May 2022. Styled as a leisure and entertainment offering, a water park debut will be the first phase of a larger development by Thailand’s Proud Group with a total investment of THB4.5 billion (USD134 million). Andamanda will bring a world-class attraction to the resort island featuring…
-
German tourist missing in Phuket
After a German tourist in Phuket was rescued after getting stuck between rocks last week, another German tourist in the island province is also in a tricky situation. The 76 year old woman, who so far has only been identified as Ms. Barbara, reportedly went missing from a hotel in Thalang district on Monday (May 9). This is reportedly the…
-
On May 14 and 29, children can get Pfizer vaccines at Phuket airport
Phuket International Airport will have walk-in Pfizer vaccinations for children 5-11 years old on May 14 and 29. Parents can bring their children to get vaccinated at Terminal X (south of the international terminal) from 9am to noon on both dates. The Phuket Provincial Health Office’s Facebook post about the vaccinations includes a graphic that only mentions “shots 1, 2”…
-
Phuket targets 1 million foreign tourists for last quarter of 2022
The president of the Phuket Tourist Association says the island hopes to attract a million foreign tourists in the last quarter of the year. Bhummikitti Raktaengam says things are looking up since the cancellation of Test & Go, and he’s hopeful the southern island could receive a total of 3.5 million visitors this year. Since May 1, the number of…
-
Dog kills its owner’s sister in Phuket
A woman was found dead with bite marks on her neck at her home in Phuket in southern Thailand this morning. She was taking care of her brother’s two Thai ridgeback dogs while he was away on a business trip to Bangkok. One of the dogs had traces of blood on its mouth and fur. Police found 38 year old…
-
A piece of ceiling at Phuket airport falls, one passenger sent to hospital
An aluminium ‘bar’ from Phuket Airport’s domestic terminal ceiling has fallen to the floor, just avoiding hitting a female passenger standing nearby. No injuries were reported, but the woman was in shock and fainted. Ceiling structures at Thailand’s airports have suffered from ‘gravity’ over the past few weeks. Yesterday, at 11.20 am, officials at Phuket airport’s domestic terminal were notified…
-
Hospital director says Phuket boy lost his sight due to sinusitis, not Pfizer vaccine
The director of Vachira Hospital Phuket says a 12-year-old boy has been blinded by sinusitis complications, not by the Pfizer vaccine he received. Dr Weerasak Lorthongkham was responding to claims by Nonthaphat Sae-ong’s family members that the Covid vaccine he received on November 25 had caused him to go blind. According to a Bangkok Post report, the boy’s grandparents claim…
-
What you can get for 1 million USD in Phuket
Wondering what you could buy in Phuket with a budget of 1 million USD? A million dollars goes a lot further in Phuket than in most western countries like the United States. With house prices rising significantly in many areas around the world, properties in beautiful but less expensive places like Phuket are certainly looking very enticing. Phuket has been…
-
Phuket prepares reforestation activity for National Tree Day
National Tree Day is coming up next Friday, May 13, and Phuket is getting ready to celebrate! Phuket authorities plan to host a public event where people can come and plant trees. The event will start at Wat Kosit Viharn Temple, off Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada, and move to Toh Sae National Forest reserve, which is behind the temple off…
-
Phuket officials investigate land excavation in Kamala hills
After news broke on Thai media that a backhoe was seen digging soil and loading it onto trucks in Kamala, a town on the central west coast of Phuket, officials are now investigating what is suspected of being an illegal land excavation. Isra News Agency, the Thai media platform that first reported the incident, published photos on Thursday of what…
-
Phuket Covid-19 clinic to close down this month
One Covid-19 clinic in Phuket is preparing to shut down on May 16, even though it only opened eight months ago in September last year. The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office announced the upcoming closure of Aunjai Clinic yesterday in a briefing, and on Facebook. The clinic was established to provide locals who tested positive for Covid-19 with advice, medicines,…
-
How living the dream became a nightmare for Phuket property buyers
Dreams die hard, even in a pandemic. But for thousands of Phuket property buyers who invested in the promise of a tropical dream with endless sunsets, the stone-cold reality of failure is just starting to hit home. Amidst a backdrop of rusting steel, decaying concrete, and empty construction sites lays the dark side of the island’s real estate trade. To…
-
Phuket and Andaman coast warned of storms and rough seas for next few days
A weather alert from last night by the Phuket Info Centre is warning of possible flash floods and “wild water flows” in Phuket, and other provinces on the Andaman coast. The stormy weather and high waves are predicted to last from today until Monday (May 7-9). Sailors in the Andaman Sea are being warned not to sail in areas with…
-
Phuket official suggests drawing tourists with sharks
After an animal, which some suspect was a shark, bit a child at a Phuket beach on this week, one official thinks sharks could be a cool new tourist attraction. Earlier, a lifeguard had voiced concern that if the attack was indeed a shark attack, this would impact tourism in the area. But Jutha Dumlak, the president of the Kamala…
-
Location location location: “So why Cherngtalay, Phuket’s northwest coast?”
Popular tourist spots in Phuket include Patong, the old town, and Phromthep Cape, which are all on everyone’s bucket list. Undoubtedly, visiting one of these popular destinations is fun and exciting, but the crowds can be overpowering at times. For a refreshing change of scenery, visit Cherngtalay, one of Phuket’s hottest neighbourhoods filled with charm and character! Phuket is already…
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.