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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Tiger boosts Singapore-Phuket service
PHUKET: Singaporean low-cost carrier Tiger Airways is to start operating three additional flights a week to Phuket.The new flights will start on March 25, and will run during the evening, three days a week. Added to Tiger’s existing one flight per day, the new services will bring the total number of flights by the airline between Singapore and Phuket per…
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Tsunami relief centre closes
PHUKET: Sixty-two days after the tsunami, the relief center for tsunami victims in Phuket has closed, following a Cabinet decision on Tuesday that there was no longer a need for emergency assistance of the kind the center had provided.Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said that the focus now has shifted to long-term recovery and that he and the governors of the…
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Patong gets disaster warning system
PATONG: An emergency alarm system has been installed in Patong and will be handed over to Patong Municipality tomorrow. The system will also be tested.The system will feature seven alarms, outside Kalim School, at Loma Park, outside the Bank of Asia branch, at the Sai Nam Yen intersection, outside the Baan Yin Dee Hotel, outside Suwan Keree school, and at…
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Japan travel giant pushes Phuket
PATONG: Ways to attract more Japanese tourists back to post-tsunami Phuket were top of the agenda during the annual meeting of Japan’s oldest tour company, JTB Corp, at the Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa.JTB Group President Sano Kazuhisa said JTB was planning to increase its promotion of areas affected by the tsunami, including Phuket, the Maldives, Langkawi, Penang, Sri Lanka…
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Health Dept moves to avert disease outbreak
PHUKET: The Department of Health (DOH) will step up its efforts to ensure there are no outbreaks of disease in tsunami-stricken areas and camps for displaced people, the department’s Director-General, Dr Somyos Charoensak said today.Dr Somyos made the announcement at a meeting of health officials from the six tsunami-affected provinces at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket City.Although no outbreaks…
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Special air deals for MICE passengers
PHUKET: To help boost tourism to Phuket, Bangkok Airways will provide 43,920 free tickets for government officers traveling from Bangkok to Phuket or vice-versa for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) between April 1 and September 30.In the same period, private-sector MICE travelers will be able to buy one-way Bangkok-Phuket tickets for just 500 baht and round-trip tickets for 1,000…
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B5.25bn set aside to revive tourism
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Cabinet yesterday approved a 5.25-billion-baht budget to carrying out projects to revive tourism in the six Andaman-coast provinces hit by tsunami, after cutting the down the proposed figures by 4.11 billion baht.Government Spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said the Cabinet approved a budget of 2.651 billion baht from the normal budget for the 2005 fiscal year for projects…
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US seamen aid cleanup
PHUKET: The United States Ambassador to Thailand, Ralph Boyce, was in Phuket yesterday visiting sailors from the US Navy who were helping in the post-tsunami clean-up.Some of the 1,200 sailors, in Kamala for three days to clear wrecked buildings and other debris, joined Ambassador Boyce in delivering to Thai students food, clothes, books and cards made by American schoolchildren.Ambassador Boyce…
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Princess delivers inspiration
PATONG: HRH Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya visited Loma Park in Patong on yesterday to offer gifts and moral support to young survivors of the December 26 tsunami disaster. The Princess, dressed in black, arrived at the beach-side park at 5 pm, accompanied by Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan. There to greet them was Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, Patong Mayor Pian Keesin…
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Businesses brace for impact of diesel hike
PHUKET: Businesspeople foresee price rises across the board due to the recent 4% rise in the price of diesel fuel, though they believe it will take some time before the impact is felt in the retail sector.The 60-satang-per-liter price hike, announced last Tuesday, reflects the Energy Ministry’s inability to continue subsidizing diesel at a rate of 3 baht per liter.…
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OrBorJor spends B8m on tsunami victims
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) spent 8.7 million baht between January 15 and February 21 on helping Phuket’s tsunami victims, OrBorJor president Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr disclosed.K. Anchalee said the OrBorJor had funded 89 cremations at 3,000 baht each, and given 5,000 baht apiece to 36 children who had lost parents.A total of 3,268,590 baht has been used to make…
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Patong “building site’ deters tour companies
PHUKET: Travel agents are still reluctant to send tourists to Phuket because property damaged by the tsunami has not yet been repaired, yesterday’s Patong renovation progress meeting heard.Pattanapong Aikvanich, the President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), said discussions with tour companies and journalists from countries such as Germany, Australia and Sweden had revealed the feeling that tourists would not…
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British arts minister pays respects
MAI KHAO: British Arts Minister Estelle Morris today became the latest member of a foreign government to pay respects to the tsunami dead.Ms Morris, accompanied by senior British police office Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Bracker, visited the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) centre at Mai Khao, where she laid a wreath at the international wall of remembrance and observed a minute’s…
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Sponsors sought for NZ triathlon bid
PHUKET: Island resident Les Bird, a former police commander in Hong Kong, will take part in the gruelling New Zealand Ironman Triathlon and is seeking sponsors to help raise money for Laguna Phuket’s Tsunami Recovery Fund. The race takes place March 5 and comprises a 3.8-km swim, 180-km cycle race and full-length marathon. Mr Bird hopes to complete the course…
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Authorities prepare to move Yan Yao bodies
PHANG NGA: The stench from the 1,000-plus corpses of tsunami victims being held at Wat Yan Yao now permeates the temple and the area around it, and local people are too scared to enter the wat to make merit.Authorities are therefore planning to move the bodies to the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Center (TTVI), in Mai Khao, Phuket.However, Phang Nga…
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Anzac invasion
PATONG: Almost 60 days after the tsunami hit, the first large group of Australian and New Zealand tourists arrived in Phuket this morning aboard a Star Cruise ship.Among those on hand to greet the 1,800 visitors were Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Region 4 Director Suwalai Pinpradab, Phuket Tourist Authority President Pattanapong Aikwanich and a contingent of students from Patong…
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Mob blocks road in rent protest
SAPAM: More than 200 people blocked Thepkrasattri Rd for half an hour yesterday evening as they protested against plans to make them pay rent on the land where they have lived for 15 years.The rally was sparked by a February 17 visit to Moo 3, Tambon Koh Keaw by city officers, who told the residents they must now pay rent…
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Deal struck for Kamala homeless
KAMALA: More than 70 families in Kamala have agreed to rent state land near the beach from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization for minimal rents ranging from 20 baht to 1,000 baht per rai per year, figures fixed by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura.The families – all of whom had been encroaching on state land before the disaster of December 26…
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Patong Mayor ordered to get a move on
PATONG: Phuket Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit yesterday ordered Patong Mayor Pian Keesin to pick up the pace in carrying out orders to make Patong Beach more orderly, remarking that the Patong beachfront area appears to be slipping back into pre-tsunami chaos.The order came during a meeting of a special committee set up to oversee the redevelopment of Patong Beach in line…
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Ex-presidents stress local approach to recovery
THALANG: Projects to rebuild tsunami-ravaged areas should be “locally-driven” former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr declared after touring parts of Phuket and Phang Nga at the weekend.Thailand was the first stop in a four-country tour by the ex-presidents, aimed at encouraging private and corporate donors – particularly in the United States – to continue giving to the…
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King of Sweden thanks Thais
PHUKET CITY: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited Phuket Provincial Hall this morning as part of a state visit to Thailand to thank the Thai people for their efforts in the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami. The royal couple, accompanied by Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiat Sathirathai, were greeted by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and a…
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Missing millions probe to finish “within 15 days’
PHUKET: Vice-Governor Supachai Yuwaboon has pledged that the commission set up after the theft of more than 2 million baht intended for tsunami victims will complete its investigation within 15 days.The commission has already summoned two people for interview but, V/Gov Supachai said, “To be fair to everyone, we cannot give any more details until we have finished the investigation…
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338 bodies sent home from Mai Khao
PHUKET: A total of 338 tsunami victims buried temporarily at Mai Khao Cemetery have been identified and returned to their families.Thai Tsunami Victim Indentification Centre (TTVI) head Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsab says he expects all 1,890 bodies at Mai Khao to be identified within three or four months.All but two of the bodies identified so far were foreigners, said Gen…
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Clinton, Bush Snr to tour tsunami damage
PHUKET: US former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton will arrive in Phuket on Saturday as part of a US presidential delegation to inspect tsunami-affected areas throughout Asia.They will arrive at Phuket International Airport at 11:55 am, to be welcomed by Khunying Pojamarn Shinawatra, the wife of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.The former heads…
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Swedish royals to visit Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will arrive in Phuket on Friday for a tour of the island and Phang Nga.Their plane will arrive at 9:30 am at Phuket International Airport, and the royal couple will be received at Phuket Provincial Hall by Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and representatives of the Thai government, before visiting the Bangkok Phuket…
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B2m in tsunami aid “disappears’
PHUKET: More than two million baht intended for tsunami victims has gone missing from a safe in Provincial Hall.The theft was reported to police yesterday by Metha Mekarat, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM).Altogether, 2,050,000 baht is missing from the safe, which is in a strongroom at Provincial Hall.K. Metha said that since the tsunami, the…
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THAI defends decision to cut flights
PHUKET: National carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) has defended its decision to axe a number of flights to Phuket in the wake of the tsunami, including all direct international services.Kalayapha Panich, the Phuket-based District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, told the Gazette that the company had decided it could not continue to operate routes at a loss.“So few passengers currently…
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Tsunami family in plea for help
PHUKET: The family and friends of a Finnish man and his son who were listed on an official website as having survived the tsunami, but who have not returned home, have appealed for help in finding out what has happened to them. Michael Gustafsson and his nine-year-old son Alexander were posted as “Swedish” and “Go Home” on the Phuket City…
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Crime rate rising after tsunami
PHUKET CITY: Police are reporting a surge in crime brought about by the downturn in the tourism industry following the tsunami disaster, and are advising people to take extra precautions to protect themselves against opportunistic thieves.In a press release issued by the Phuket City Police, Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin said there has been an increase in home and office…
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Dr Pornthip gives up, heads South
PHUKET: Leading forensic scientist Dr Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunan will not be allowed to re-start her work on identifying tsunami victims at Wat Yan Yao, Phang Nga, despite Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkarnjana deciding just five days ago that she could.The Head of the Thai Tsunami Victims Identification Centre(TTVI), Pol Gen Noppadol Soomboonsub, told the Gazette today that he has sufficient staff…
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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