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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432 entrants so far for tsunami memorial contest
BANGKOK: An astonishing 432 entrants from 44 countries have registered so far for Thailand’s Tsunami Memorial Design Competition. Registration closes next Tuesday (November 15). The aim of the competition is to gather conceptual designs for building a memorial at Khao Lak that will be “appropriate and interactive” and “serve as a permanent tribute” to those who lost their lives in…
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Red tape mix-up stalls tsunami aid theft case
PHUKET: Nine months after 2.05 million baht in tsunami aid money went missing from a strongbox at Phuket Provincial Hall, the investigation into the theft has apparently stalled temporarily due to poor communication between the police and the regional court now in charge of the case. The Region 8 Prosecutor’s Office in Surat Thani says it approved a request by…
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Surin Beach gets facelift, Nai Yang muddles on
PHUKET: In an effort to beautify the Surin and Nai Yang beach fronts for the high season, 100 police volunteers and three local government officials helped to clear the illegal stalls at both beaches yesterday.Cherng Talay OrBorTor (Tambon Administration Organization) Chief Administative Officer Suwat Pakobporn explained to the Gazette that it is provincial government policy to remove illegal stalls and…
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Call for stricter building law enforcement
PHUKET: Provincial government officials and the Phuket Real Estate Club today made a joint call for stricter enforcement of building regulations to be applied across the island.At the weekly meeting of the heads of provincial government offices at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning, Chaloerm Rakmak of the provincial office of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning,…
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Tourist complaints spark zoo check
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura inspected the Phuket Zoo on Friday after receiving written complaints from about 10 tourists about the maltreatment of animals and the quality of water in pools there.The Thailand Zoological Park Organization (TZPO), the Tourism Authority of Thailand and a number of NGOs have also received similar complaints about the private zoo, which opened in 1997.The…
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Award for Phuket from vegetarian mag
SAN FRANCISCO: Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival has been named as one of the “10 Best Veg Destinations in the World” by the San-Francisco-based VegNews magazine.In its third annual Veggie Awards, the magazine also singles out places, tours or events in Morocco, Italy, the UK, Mexico, Kenya, Maine in the US, the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica.Of the…
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Top Condé Nast award for Phuket
NEW YORK CITY: Phuket Island has received the “Top Island in Asia 2005” award from New York-based Condé Nast Traveler magazine in its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Award. Bangkok won the “Best Asian City” award.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Office said, “We sent representatives from Thailand to the event. It is the first time Phuket…
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Four nabbed in B50m heroin bust
PHUKET: Three foreign men and a Thai woman were arrested yesterday on charges of attempting to smuggle 40 kilograms of heroin out of Thailand in a yacht.The arrests are understood to be the culmination of a four-month international operation involving police from Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway and the US.Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj…
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Clinton praises Tilly the heroine
NEW YORK: The 10-year-old British schoolgirl whose prompt action saved an estimated 100 lives on Phuket last December 26 has been praised by former US President Bill Clinton.Tilly Smith was welcomed at UN headquarters in New York on November 3 by staff of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, a Geneva-based UN agency that is trying to educate people worldwide…
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Gambling tops arrest statistics again
PHUKET: September statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling again topped the list, with 137 people arrested for the offense. Twenty-two cases involved the sale of underground lottery numbers.Four murders were reported during the month with two cases solved, resulting in the arrests of two people. One case of attempted murder was also solved, leading to the arrests…
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19 die on Phuket roads in September
PHUKET: Official figures from Ruampaet and Phuket International private hospitals and Wachira Phuket, Thalang and Patong government hospitals show that 19 people died on Phuket’s roads in September – seven more than in August.Eighteen people died in motorcycle crashes and one was killed in a car crash, whereas in August, 11 died in motorcycle collisions and one in a car…
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Tsunami ceremonies program unveiled
PHUKET: Beach locations in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi have been chosen for the holding of official tsunami anniversary commemoration ceremonies on the morning of December 26. Thailand is offering free flights and accommodation for two nights to relatives of those who died or went missing in the tsunami, and to those who were injured in the tsunami, so that…
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Gov takes tough line on airport taxis
PHUKET: Within two weeks meter taxis will have a desk inside the arrivals hall of Phuket International Airport, and three cabs at a time will be allowed to park right outside arrivals – the sacred territory of the island’s airport limousines.The decision was made by Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura after a meeting yesterday to discuss the simmering dispute between meter taxis…
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Phuket Carnival kicks off in Patong
PHUKET: The celebration to launch Phuket’s tourism high season starts today and runs through November 3, from 9 am to midnight daily. Previously known as the Patong Carnival, it has been revamped and dubbed Phuket Carnival 2005.The annual parade, from near Phuket Simon Cabaret, along Prachanukhro Rd to Thaweewong Rd and then north to Soi Bangla, takes place from 4…
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Travel deal “should boost Chinese tourist numbers’
PHUKET: Nineteen Chinese tour operators yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell 25 standardized travel packages to Chinese tourists. The MOU, signed at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, will be effective for six months starting today.Prapan Yukumyat, President of the Phuket Office of the Thai-China Tourism Association, told the Gazette that since the year 2000 the number of…
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Austrian in bizarre suicide
PATONG: An Austrian tourist died of knife wounds to the chest at around midnight on Saturday. Police say that he purposely inflicted the wounds on himself.The dead man was named as Wolfgang Rodlauer, 36, a ski instructor. Pol Lt Col Prathung Pholmana of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that Mr Rodlauer was seen walking about the streets of Patong…
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HRH to return to Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will be in Phuket again from November 12 to 14, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura announced yesterday morning.Although the official itinerary has yet to be announced, he said that the Princess will bring with her eight of the 12 adjudicators of the Prince Mahidol Award, which is given each year in recognition of exemplary contributions to…
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Tourism industry worries about labor shortage
PHUKET: The island’s tourism industry is suffering a shortage of skilled staff because many workers left the island during the slump after the tsunami, Dechar Peukpattanaruk, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Labor Office, said today.He said that although many people are applying for the estimated 4,000 vacancies in Phuket’s tourism industry, very few of them have the appropriate qualifications or…
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Princess enjoys playtime with Thai orphans
PHUKET: Princess Maja Synke von Hohenzollern of Germany was in Phuket yesterday to enjoy a few hours of fun with 23 orphans being taken care of by the Beluga School for Life at Na Nai in Phang Nga. The school was established soon after the tsunami and is being funded for 10 years by Niels Stolberg, the managing director of…
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Police nab 7-Eleven Gang
PHUKET CITY: Police have rounded up a seven-member gang – three of them women – in connection with armed robberies of four 7-Eleven convenience stores over a five-day period, starting last Friday (October 21).Four of the gang were paraded before the press and identified as Jarin Tunrat, 26; Rungrudee Kaewchu, 27; Monya Lao-ngam, 18; and Komsan Pornlert, 27. All are…
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Frenchman kills self “over debts’
PHUKET: French resident Laurent Huppe was found dead in his house in Ao Yon on Wednesday. Police say they believe he committed suicide, possibly because of heavy debt.Mr Huppe’s landlord, Donraman Srikwan, noticed a bad smell when he visited Mr Huppe’s two-story wooden home on the Baan Borrea-Khao Khad Rd in Wichit district, and found the bedroom door locked. He…
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Princess arrives in Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived in Phuket today to take part in a Tod Kathin ceremony, during which people donated money to Wat Luang Phu Supa in Chalong.The wat is the residence of Abbot Luang Phu Supa who, at 111 years of age, is the oldest Abbot on the island.After the ceremony the Princess traveled to Baan Nam…
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Patong tsunami alarms to be tested
PATONG: The three existing tsunami warning towers along Patong beach will be tested between 10 am and 11:30 am on Friday this week. The testing, to be conducted jointly by the Municipality and officials from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry, is aimed at ensuring that the towers’ direct satellite links to the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC)…
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Jetstar begins flights to Phuket
PHUKET: Singapore-based economy airline Jetstar Asia yesterday began its four-times-weekly service from Singapore to Phuket, with tickets selling for as little as S$30 (about 725 baht) until December 15. Jetstar Asia flights leave Singapore every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:05 am, arriving in Phuket at 7:45 am. The return flight leaves Phuket at 8:45 am, arriving in Singapore…
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Phuket City police chief promoted
PHUKET: The Superintendent of Phuket City Police, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, is one of a number of senior police who are being promoted or transferred as part of the annual national police reshuffle.Col Paween has been promoted to Deputy Commander of the Surat Thani Provincial Police. His replacement is Lt Col Natta Sawaetalaek, formerly Deputy Superintendent of Thalang Police.Also leaving…
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Rape charges dropped
PATONG: Rape charges against two Thai singers have been dropped at the request of the alleged victim, 18-year-old “Anna” (not her real name), a tourist from Holland. Pol Lt Weerapong Rakhito of Kathu Police Station said, “The case was closed because the victim came to us with her lawyers to ask to have the charges dismissed. I did not ask…
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TTVI center closure may be postponed
PHUKET: The Thai Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) Center has asked the government to postpone the Bangkok center’s closure from December 26 to February 28 because it will not be able to finish its work by the end of the year.Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the TTVI’s Thai disaster victim identification (DVI) unit, said that the TTVI submitted its request…
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Bird ‘flu precautions stepped up
PHUKET: Following the death of a farmer in Kanchanaburi province from bird ‘flu and the infection of his son with the disease, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has ordered officials to step up measures to ensure there is no outbreak of the disease in Phuket.No cases of avian ‘flu have ever been recorded on the island.“I’m very serious about this, because…
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Bizarre death “was an accident’
PATONG: Police say they believe that the bizarre death of Rassamee Pholrat was an accident, and they expect to close their investigation soon.The 22-year-old from Udon Thani was found dead at the Safari Elephant Camp on Siriraj Rd on October 5, half-naked and apparently trampled to death by an elephant.Kathu Police Superintendent Pol Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen explained to the Gazette,…
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Meridien Khao Lak owner raps TAT
KHAO LAK: The owner of another leading Khao Lak resort has backed the opinions of La Flora owner Sompong Daowpiset over the lack of support the resort area has received from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) since the tsunami.Speaking just after the reopening of his Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort on Friday, ML Vitya Chakrabandhu told…
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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