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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Blood bank in plea for foreign volunteers
PHUKET CITY: The blood bank at Wachira Phuket Hospital is appealing for expats of all ages and nationalities to become volunteer helpers. The head of the blood bank, Sriroung Choophak, told the Gazette that foreign volunteers could help put donors at ease when they came to give blood, and maybe give the hospital ideas on improving the blood service. K.…
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PTA use Japanese star to promote Phuket
PHUKET: Top Japanese actress Maju Ozawa is to make a 54-minute TV show for presentation in her home country in order to promote Phuket to the Japanese market.Ms Ozawa, who yesterday signed a contract with the Phuket Tourist Association to promote Phuket for a year, won the job after she took part, along with six other Japanese actresses, in the…
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April sees rise in road deaths
PHUKET CITY: Official figures for April obtained from Wachira, Thalang, Patong and Ruampaet government hospitals show that 18 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during the month.In addition, three died in car accidents and one unlucky pedestrian was killed.The figures are an increase on those for March, when 11 people died in Phuket, all in motorbike accidents.The hospital…
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Cop gets life for killing tourists
KANCHANABURI: Pol Sgt Somchai Wisetsingha has been handed a life sentence for the murders eight months ago of British tourists Adam Lloyd, 25, and Vanessa Arscott, 24.The court had heard that, after an argument with Mr Lloyd, Somchai assaulted him and then shot him dead. As Ms Arscott fled from the scene Somchai ran her down with his Volvo car,…
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Man found dead in Burmese Cemetery
RASSADA: A man, thought to be Burmese and about 30 years old, was found dead yesterday at Klong Tah Jeen, near Choke Raft, in an area long known as the Burmese Cemetery because of the number of murder victims dumped there.Pol Sub-Lt Teeradat Jiragsa of Phuket City Police Station explained that the victim, who was about 165cm tall and dark-skinned…
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Fantastic fungus launches lottery lust
RAWAI: Hundreds of people have been making their way to a small house in Village 6 to see a clump of enormous, white mushrooms that sprang up there on Visaka Bucha Day and which is thought by many villagers to be a harbinger of good luck.Homeowner Suwan “Prachuap” Phungkung, a fortune-teller by trade, told the Gazette she discovered the mushrooms…
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Training seminar for volunteer officers
THALANG: Ninety new volunteer police officers have taken part in two days of training during which they learned the rudiments of martial arts along with topics including providing security for VIPs and dealing with sensitive situations such as bomb threats.The 90 men who have volunteered to support the province’s 400 paid, full-time officers gathered at the Khao Pra Taew Wildlife…
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B280m more needed to identify tsunami dead
PHUKET: Around 20 million baht is needed to pay for the testing of DNA samples of victims of the tsunami who have yet to be identified, the head of the Thai Tsunami Victims Identification centre (TTVI), Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsap, said yesterday.And an additional 260 million baht, or more, may be needed to set up a proposed Thai-run disaster victims…
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Drug cases top crime stats again
PHUKET: Drugs were yet again the main cause for arrests in Phuket in April, according to the latest Provincial Police crime statistics.A total of 93 people were arrested for drug-related offenses between April 1 and April 30, compared with 81 arrests in March.Possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) accounted for the largest number of arrests – 38 – in April, followed…
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Democrat leader drops in for coffee
PHUKET: Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva took part in a “coffee council” discussion with people in Mai Khao this morning, during a visit to Phuket.More than 500 people waited to see the opposition leader arrive with Phuket Democrat MP Chalermluck Kebsub and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thebabutr.K. Abhisit said the party’s “coffee councils” were a good way…
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Funding for tsunami victim ID “embarrassing’ – Interpol
PHUKET: Ronald K Noble, the Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), this morning lashed out at the lack of funding from the international community for work to continue in identifying victims of the December 26 tsunami.“We, as a world community, should be embarrassed that the people in the DVI teams, who should be [regarded as] heroes, aren’t…
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Surakul gets green card for Premier League kid’s soccer clinic
PHUKET CITY: Three representatives of English Premiership teams Everton, Bolton and Manchester City yesterday gave their approval for Surakul Stadium to be the venue of a one-day kid’s soccer camp on July 21, run by three coaches and two players of each team.Eam Thavornvongwongse, President of the Phuket Sports Association, said, “The purpose of this course is to give about…
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Patong police get new “beach busters’
PATONG: Officers from Kathu Police Station will find it easier to patrol the sands of Patong Beach with the new 4×4 off-road vehicles presented to them yesterday by the US Embassy in Thailand.The vehicles, called ST 4×4, were donated by E-Z-Go Company, which is owned by Textron, well-known for its Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft brands.Two of the vehicles, which…
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B10m tsunami archive to be established
NAI YANG: Some 200 government officers from Bangkok and the six tsunami-affected provinces gathered at the Pearl Village Hotel yesterday to offer suggestions of what data should be included in the Tsunami Information Center (TIC), which will be built in Bangkok at a cost of 10 million baht.The hearing was organized by the National Archives of Thailand (NAT), operated under…
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Tour of beauty
PHUKET: Picturesque Phuket provided the perfect backdrop for a visit by 81 of the world’s most beautiful young women today.The competitors in the Miss Universe 2005 beauty contest came to Phuket to boost post-tsunami tourism, and they received a warm welcome from residents and tourists.After lunch at FantaSea, Kamala, and seeing the “Amazing Kamala” show, one group of contestants went…
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Sticker fever unabated
PHUKET: Since its launch five weeks ago, the Phuket Gazette‘s “We Love Phuket” sticker campaign has yielded continuing surprises. Originally budgeted for 8,000 stickers, the project has now printed and placed 14,000. Though currently out of stock, an additional 6,000 pieces will arrive from the printer this Friday (20 May). Of those, 3,200 have already been booked, so a further…
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Bypass expansion stems water supply
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Water Supply (PPWS) has announced that its customers living in areas to the south of the bypass road expansion project will experience reductions in flow rate until about May 25. The reduced flow, about 50% on average, will result from a PPWS project to move water mains to accommodate the road expansion now underway by the…
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Phuket hosts Asia-Pacific Marine conference
PHUKET: Some 80 delegates from 21 countries, all members of Asia and Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) working groups, are in Phuket for a convention on Marine Resource Conservation and Fisheries, which is taking place at the Novotel Coralia Phuket resort until May 20.The event, organized by the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning Office of Thailand’s Department of Marine…
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Tsunami cost B20 billion in tourism revenue
PHUKET: The province has lost at least 20 billion baht in revenue from tourism between January and March because of the December tsunami, Tourism Council of Thailand President Vichit Na Ranong said on Friday.K. Vichit said, “Phuket makes on average 70 billion baht a year from tourism. Generally, the province makes around twice as much revenue in the high season as…
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Employment Office launches English-language web pages
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) has created several English-language web pages on its website to help foreigners understand the complexities of obtaining and extending a work permit. The pages include translations of the 1978 Working of Aliens Act, the 1979 Royal Decree listing professions that aliens are prohibited from engaging in, and other information useful for those looking to work in the Kingdom.…
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Miss Universe beauties to visit Phuket
PHUKET: Miss Universe 2005 contestants will visit tourist attractions and hospitals, and learn about “Phuket culture”, when they visit the island on May 19 on a tour designed to boost Phuket’s tourism industry.The 82 young women from around the world will spend a day in the province during the run-up to the competition, which will take place in Bangkok on…
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Time for Phuket “to learn from mistakes’
PHUKET: Phuket should learn from the mistakes of the past while rebuilding after the December 26 tsunami, according to a world expert in sustainable tourism.Gabor Vereczi, who analyzes sustainable tourism for the World Tourism Organization (WTO), told a tourism conference at the Pearl Village Hotel: “This is an important opportunity for Phuket and other destinations on the Andaman coast and…
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Dulwich divorce is final
PHUKET: The divorce is final. Dr Arthit Ourairath, CEO and Founder of Dulwich International College, has announced that ties between Dulwich College in London (DCL) and Phuket’s top international school have been severed.Dulwich International College will, from June 24, be known as the British International College of Thailand, unless agreement can be reached with another school willing to replace DCL’s…
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Dengue fever cases up sharply
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) is urging the public to take steps to eradicate mosquitoes around their premises in an effort to prevent the spread of dengue fever. Despite efforts by the PPHO to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne disease after the tsunami, there have been 68 reported cases of the disease since the beginning of the…
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968 businesses still await aid
PHUKET: Nearly five months after the tsunami, some 968 small business owners in Phuket are still awaiting 20,000 baht in financial aid packages from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to re-start their businesses.A group comprising mostly small-scale vendors and beach massage business operators contacted the Phuket Office of the MoI’s Department of Local Administration (DOLA) recently to see why their…
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MICE tourism gets a boost
PHUKET: The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has launched its “Think Meeting, Think Phuket” discounted air fares and hotel rates promotion in a bid to boost the number of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) travelers to the island.The aim of the promotion, which will end on October 31, is to attract an average 1,250 people a day to Phuket. Assuming…
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Phang Nga airport plan put on hold
PHUKET CITY: Plans to build an airport in Phang Nga have been put on ice because of the tsunami.Deputy Transport Minister Vichet Kasemthongsria last year backed a proposal to build an airport on Koh Kho Khao, an island just north of Baan Nam Khem, in Takuapa District, to serve the province’s then-booming tourist industry.But Takuapa District Chief Administration Assistant Kanitsorn…
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OrBorJor promotes Phuket in UAE
PHUKET: A 22-member delegation from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) have returned from the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, where for three days they promoted the delights of Phuket – and studied the way the city, famed for being duty-free, operates.OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, who headed the delegation, said that the Phuket booth got good feedback from visitors, though…
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Off to the movies? Click before you go!
PHUKET: Movie-goers in Thailand are familiar with the vagaries of screening schedules; the phenomenon of sudden, unannounced cancellations; and the difficulties in getting through to box office telephone recordings. For foreigners, these problems are often compounded by communication difficulties. It was against this background that the SFX Coliseum cinema at Central Festival and the Phuket Gazette teamed up two months…
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Weather warning for Andaman Sea coast
PHUKET: Heavy rains and widespread thunderstorms swept across the island over the weekend and there is the likelihood of more to come, marking the beginning of Phuket’s annual monsoon season.Staff at the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), Phuket, told the Gazette that southwesterly winds of between 20 and 40 kilometers per hour – approximately Force 4 to 5 on 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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