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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Seafood, water are safe – Health Ministry
PATONG: An investigation by the Ministry of Public Health has found that seafood and water in Phuket – including drinking, well and sea water – is free of contamination following the tsunami.The announcement was made by the Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Dr Wanchai Thienthaworn, during a visit to Patong Hospital.The Director General of the Department of Medical Science (DMC),…
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B200m center to honor King’s grandson
PHUKET CITY: A 200-million-baht rehabilitation center for autistic children will be built at Wachira Phuket Hospital as a memorial to tsunami victim Bhumi Jensen, the 21-year-old grandson of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was killed by the tsunami.Dr Jessada Chungpaibultatana, Director of the Wachira Phuket Hospital, told the Gazette that the budget to build the five-story building will be provided…
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Patong remembers victims
PATONG: About 500 people attended an interdenominational memorial service held at Loma Park this morning for the victims of the tsunami. The ceremony, organized by The Patong Business Operators’ Club, Patong Hospital and Patong Municipality, was to remember those who perished in the tsunami and to help bring peace of mind to those still suffering from its after-effects. Clerics from…
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Search for missing Austrian child
PHUKET: The International Victim Coordination Center (IVCC) has appealed for help in tracing a three-year-old girl from Austria who is believed to have surivived the tsunami but been mistaken for a Thai child.MR Supinda Chakraband, of the IVCC, told the Gazette, “It is thought the little girl, who calls herself “Anita” and “Alexandra”, survived the tsunami but she is now…
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THAI adjusts flights, Tiger Airways slashes fares
PHUKET: Thai national carrier THAI has denied claims that it has axed international flights to Phuket, although a spokesman has confirmed that two flights that previously stopped in Phuket now go to Bangkok instead.THAI’s District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, Kalayapha Panich, told the Gazette, “Around 20 daily charter flights have been canceled, but THAI hasn’t canceled any [scheduled] flights.“THAI…
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Vendors appeal against ‘smart Patong’ plan
PATONG: Vendors and operators of other businesses have tried to persuade Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Santichai Euajongprasit and Patong Municipality Mayor Pian Keesin to allow them to trade on Patong Beach as they did before the tsunami.Around 300 fishermen, jet ski owners, beach masseurs, renters of umbrellas and beach beds, motorbike rental businesses and beach…
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Phuket moved, or maybe it didn’t
PHUKET: There is no proof that Phuket has shifted 15 centimeters to the southwest following the December 26 earthquake, according to Dr Adichart Surinkum of the Geotechnic Division of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).“Evidence is still being collected and displacement modeling is continuing to determine if movement took place,” he told the Gazette today. “Surveying all the areas involved…
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Relief coordination group launched
THALANG: Some 85 people attended the first meeting of the Thailand Tsunami Recovery Group (TTRG) at Blue Canyon Golf Club, and three sub-groups were set up to help coordinate various aspects of the volunteer relief operation. Mark Weingard, who convened the meeting, explained that the TTRG would not be a charity itself, would not raise funds, and would not direct…
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South Korean forensics team arrives
PHUKET: South Korea has sent 11 forensic scientists to Phuket to help with the mammoth task of identifying tsunami victims.South Korea’s Ambassador to Thailand, Yoon Jee Joon, told Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday that the 11 experts would be working with the forensic team of Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsap.Mr Yoon added that his government hoped to establish a permanent consulate…
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Tsunami-struck firms “need more help’
PATONG: The President of the Phuket Tourist Association has called on the government to do more to help the tourism industry recover from the tsunami.Pattanapong Aikwanich told a seminar yesterday at Club Andaman Beach Resort, Patong, called to discuss restoring Phuket’s spa businesses, “We are about 90% ready to do business now, but occupancy is currently only about 10%. We’re…
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Family fears for “missing’ survivor’s safety
PHUKET: The family of Isabell Eriksson, a 24-year-old Swedish woman, have made a plea for information regarding her whereabouts, after receiving reports from two sources that she survived the tsunami.Ms Eriksson was, according to her family, staying with three friends at a hotel in the Khao Lak area when the tsunami struck. The family told the Gazette that the friends…
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FantaSea to close again until February
KAMALA: Phuket FantaSea opened its doors today for a special booking, but will close again from tomorrow until February 1, and possibly beyond that.The prominent tourist attraction closed on January 8, after the number of bookings plummeted following the tsunami.At that time, Managing Director Pin Kewkacha said that FantaSea had sustained damage totaling 60 to 70 million baht, and that,…
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Tsunami-hit residents “must pay rent’
KAMALA: More than 300 residents gathered yesterday evening to hear Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura explain why they must start paying rent on land where they have lived for many years rent-free.Addressing the meeting at Kamala Police Station, Gov Udomsak said, “Government policy is to bring back tourists by reorganizing beaches and public places. If the places are restored and improved…
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Anti-malaria campaign launched
PA KHLOK: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) today launched an anti-malaria campaign at the football field in Pa Khlok.Officers from the PPHO, local villagers, teachers and students, as well as volunteers and members of the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), joined forces to clear up places where standing water would allow mosquitoes to breed, and fumigated areas to…
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Meeting to organize long-term aid
PHUKET: A meeting is to be held on Thursday evening (January 20) in an attempt to bring together the dozens – if not hundreds – of volunteer groups currently providing aid to tsunami victims. The convener of the meeting, Mark Weingard, explained that the meeting will focus on long-term help for the victims, with all parties working together “to ensure…
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TAT planning “Tsunami Trail’ tours
ANDAMAN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is hoping to launch a “Tsunami Trail” tour in March, in collaboration with private tour companies.Sethapon Chindanon, the TAT’s Regional Director for the Americas, told the Gazette this morning that the tours would be aimed initially at the Thai market.“We are discussing the idea with tour companies, low-cost airlines and hotels, and are…
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Five homes broken into
CHALONG: Five foreigners’ homes in Rawai were broken into on the night of January 16. Cash and mobile phones were stolen.Three of the houses are in Palm Garden Home, near Phuket Sea Shell on Wiset Rd, while the other two are in Bang Khontee, on Saiyuan Rd.The thief or thieves forced open burglar bars covering windows before climbing in.“We are…
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Swedish PM calls for ‘no warning’ probe
PHUKET: Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson has called for an investigation into why no warning was issued in the hours before Thailand was hit by a tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people including, possibly, as many as 1,000 Swedes.Speaking during a visit to Phuket with his counterparts from Norway and Finland, Kjell Magne Bondevik and Matti Vanhanen, Mr Persson…
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Confusion over tsunami corpses
PHUKET CITY: Within two weeks, corpses of all tsunami victims currently being stored at Wat Yan Yao and Wat Bang Muang in Takua Pa will be transferred to the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Mai Khao, where they will be kept in cold storage containers pending identification by relatives, Phuket Police said yesterday.Speaking at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Phuket Provincial Police…
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Central bank ready to launch soft loans
PHUKET: The Bank of Thailand (BoT) – the country’s central bank – decided yeterday to establish a system allowing tsunami-affected businesses to get soft loans at interest rates of no more than 2% a year. These loans would be channeled through the country’s commercial banks, which would repay the BoT at a rate of just 0.01% a year, Prasuksup Puangsokorn,…
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Planeload of Saudi aid arrives
PHUKET CITY: Medical supplies, tents, sleeping mats, blankets and 75 tons of food donated by the government of Saudi Arabia arrived in Phuket yesterday.The aid items, flown to Phuket on a special relief flight, were handed over to Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula at Phuket Provincial Hall.Saudi government officers visited the tsunami-stricken areas of southern Thailand last week.Hani A Mominah, Chargé…
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Canadian PM pledges help
PHUKET CITY: Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday visited Phuket and offered his country’s help in restoring the coastal environment and establishing a tsunami early warning system.Mr Martin met Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula at Phuket Provincial Hall, before visiting Kamala to talk with Canadian and Thai volunteers, and officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Sorajak Kasemsuvan…
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Rugby 10s to raise funds for tsunami orphans
PHUKET: The 7th AirAsia International Phuket Rugby 10s will be held at the Karon Municipal Stadium on May 28 and 29, with the profits going to an scholarship fund for orphans. Patrick Cotter, Chairman of the Phuket Vagabonds RFC, said, “We plan to set up a scholarship fund for children orphaned [by the tsunami] to ensure that they can at…
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Beach chair operators oppose recovery plan
PATONG: Operators of umbrella and beach chair rental businesses on Patong Beach are to ask the government to reconsider its plans for rebuilding the municipality after the December 26 tsunami.According to the plan, the number of beach umbrealls for rent on the beach would be reduced from 7,000 pre-tsunami to 1,500, and beach chairs and beds would be banned, replaced…
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Scandinavian package airline to resume Phuket flights
PHUKET: MyTravel Airways, based at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, is to resume direct flights from Scandinavia to Phuket International Airport on February 3, bringing about 1,000 people a week to Phuket and Krabi.Torben Andersen, the airline’s Head of Information and PR, told the Gazette that the first resumed flight will leave Oslo, Norway, on February 3, with another departing from Stockholm…
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Residents ‘will resist’ Kamala plan
PHUKET: A 331 million-baht plan for the post-tsunami rebuilding of Kamala has set local residents against Phuket governor Udomsak Usawarangkura.Under the plan – drawn up after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for damaged areas to be reconstructed in a way that would make them “beautiful and safe” – residents would be prohibited from returning to homes near the beach, and…
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Appeal for donations of building materials
BANG TAO: Residents building emergency housing for neighbours who lost their homes in the tsunami have issued an urgent appeal for donations of building materials and voluntary labour.Robin Plant, of Audio Visual Connections Phuket, told the Gazette that although a plot of land has been secured and some funds raised, building materials are in short supply.“We began planning this around…
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Industry Minister pledges B2bn in SME support
PATONG: Industry Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisan announced yesterday that the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) has earmarked 2 billion baht from its Venture Capital Fund to buy between 10% and 49% interest in tsunami-affected SMEs in order to provide much-needed cash flow. There will be no interest levied on the capital injection nor will the OSMEP claim any…
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Call for underwater cleanup volunteers
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is calling for volunteers to help clean up underwater areas off Patong, Kata and Karon Beaches this weekend.DMCR Director Anuwat Nateewathana said, “After inspecting Phuket’s underwater areas, the coral is still in good condition though some parts have been damaged by debris from homes and other wreckage.“We are worried that if…
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Mystery over missing survivors
PHUKET: Anguished families have pleaded for any information on two European women and a boy who apparently survived the tsunami and were treated at hospitals for minor wounds, but who have since disappeared. In addition to Barbara Kuehne, who was apparently treated at Thai Muang Hospital and discharged before disappearing (see earlier story here), an 11-year-old Austrian boy and a…
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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