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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The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Fairground developers answer critics
RAWAI: The would-be developers of a controversial British-style “fun fair” on seven rai of seaside land in Rawai expect to hear soon whether the project will be approved and are defending the idea in the face of criticism that it is inappropriate for Phuket. Steve Rutter and his wife Sharon, of Manchester, England, plan to create a small fairground for…
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AirAsia to sell tickets at Tesco
PHUKET CITY: From Phuket to Kuala Lumpur via Tesco-Lotus will become possible from September 28, when Thai AirAsia opens a ticket booth inside the Tesco-Lotus store, off the bypass road.The low-cost airline started selling tickets through five Tesco-Lotus branches in Bangkok on September 16 and plans to extend its sales network to include Tesco stores in Chiang Mai, Haad Yai…
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Senior police in annual reshuffle
PHUKET: Senior police officers from four Phuket police stations have been promoted, with effect from October 1. Two other officers will be moving to take up posts in other stations in the same rank.Pol Lt Gen Somsak Buppasuwan, Surat Thani-based commander of Police Region 8 has announced the promotions and transfers of a total of 27 police officers from Region…
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WBC champ to defend title in Phuket
KARON: WBC world flyweight boxing champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam will defend his title during the 42nd Annual WBC Convention, to be hosted by the Phuket Arcadia Hilton Hotel October 4-9.The fight will take place on October 8 in Karon, though a precise venue has yet to be decided.According to the popular website boxingtalk.net, Pongsaklek’s opponent will be 15th-ranked Carlos Bouchan of…
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New Zealander dies in smash
KARON: Terence Wayne Garnett, 41, from New Zealand, died when his motorbike collided with a six-wheel truck outside Karon Municipality offices on Patak Rd early on Thursday morning.Mr Garnett, originally of Palmerston, arrived in Phuket on August 17 for a three-month stay.He was wearing a crash helmet when his motorbike collided with the truck at about 1:30 am, but he…
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Airport Immigration gets more officers
MAI KHAO: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura visited Phuket International Airport yesterday to meet 15 new Immigration Police officers recruited for the start of the high season next month, in response to complaints of long waiting times in the arrival hall.Journalists were told that the airport usually has 15 Immigration Police officers, but that authorities had decided that this was not…
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Phuket bids to host F1 power boat races
PHUKET: The island is hoping to host a round of next year’s international UIM F1 Powerboat Grand Prix circuit, the world’s premier inshore power boat racing championship. Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura told the Gazette that he had already met with F1’s Vice President for Marketing, Giancarlo Tschuor from Switzerland, and that a tentative agreement had been reached to stage the Phuket…
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Phuket to press PM for underpasses
PHUKET CITY: Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong yesterday confirmed that the Phuket Provincial government will continue to pursue the budget required to build two underpasses along the bypass road.“Phuket needs the underpasses,” he told a meeting at Provincial Hall.V/Gov Pongpow’s comments follow the rejection by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his recent visit to Phuket of an 800-million-baht budget request for the…
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Gas blast damages nine homes
WICHIT: A gas explosion yesterday evening wrecked a house in Jomthong Thani housing estate on Kwang Rd and damaged roofs and interiors in eight other houses nearby. Luckily, no one was killed or injured.Pol Maj Yongyuth Krongmalai, of Phuket City Police station, told the Gazette that investigating officers believe gas leaked into the single-story house after the pipe from an LPG…
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AirAsia launches Singapore route with 7.80-baht fare
PHUKET CITY: Thai AirAsia yesterday launched a promotion for flights on its new Singapore-Phuket route by offering 3,000 one-way seats at just 7.80 baht each. The fares do not include airport tax and other fees. Ticket purchases must be made online at www.airasia.com between September 15 and 30 for flights starting on November 5. Once the low-fare tickets are sold out,…
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Ex-Governor to run Korat
BANGKOK: Pongpayome Vasaputi, the former governor of Phuket, will take up the post of Governor of Nakhon Ratchasima (also known as Korat) in October. He will replace Soonthorn Riwreang.The announcement was made yesterday at a meeting of the Cabinet in Bangkok, during which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra approved transfers of senior government officers.K. Pongpayome is currently the Director-General of the…
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New lease on life for Lucky Complex?
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has agreed to issue a concession for private company Phamonkij Witsavakram (PW) to refurbish the abandoned Lucky Complex at Saphan Hin and run it as a duty-free plaza for 25 years.OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr made the announcement on September 13.However, the agreement is contingent on several key factors, including Customs Department approval…
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Wisut to stand for Thai Rak Thai
PHUKET: Wisut Santikul, former Vice-President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), will stand in next February’s general election as a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) candidate, he and the party confirmed yesterday.K. Wisut, who stood as an independent in the OrBorJor elections in March, but lost to Democrat-backed Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, will contest District 2 – all of the island except…
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Tourism roadshow makes its mark
PHUKET: Almost 2,000 Malaysians have decided to celebrate the end of Hari Raya/Ramadan by visiting Phuket, after seeing a promotional roadshow organized by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).Around 30 TAT staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi took the “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” on a lightning…
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Murder suspect released on bail
PATTAYA: Belgian Sam Van Treeck, 24, who is accused of the murder his ex-girlfriend has been released on bail by the Pattaya Provincial Court.Chompoonut “Jeab” Kobram was found stabbed to death at Van Treeck’s apartment on June 25. The accused denies the charge, claiming he came home after being out drinking and found the body. K. Jeab had been stabbed…
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Police urged to take care of Australian tourists
PHUKET: Police in Phuket have been urged to take special care of Australian tourists in the wake of last week’s car bomb in Jakarta, Indonesia, which killed at least 10 people and did massive damage to the Australian embassy.The Deputy Commissioner of the National Central Investigation Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Chachavan Suksomjit, also called on the tourist police in Phuket…
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Malls comply with earlier closing order
PHUKET CITY: Shopping centres and malls in Phuket have been told that they must restrict their opening hours to save energy.Panjit Pissawong, Chief of Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) told the Gazette that the island’s shopping malls had to fall into line with the resolution made by the national cabinet on Wednesday. But, she added, the PPCO would monitor how…
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SorPorKor papers on 3,000 rai revoked
PHUKET : The Phuket Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO) has revoked 283 SorPorKor 4-01 land documents covering more than 3,000 rai in Phuket, following a ruling by the SorPorKor Land Commission in Bangkok that the land was not being used by poor farmers as intendedTeerawut Tawornpatanavong, Chief of the PLRO, told the Gazette that he will now begin notifying the…
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Gov moves to reduce drowning toll
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura is planning to erect signs at island beaches warning swimmers how to react if they get caught in a dangerous current. The idea follows a recent report that drowning claimed the lives of 13 tourists in the past eight months.“I just met with a foreign expert in sea safety, and he told me that swimmers…
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Sipa calls for more discounted software
PHUKET: The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) has called for all Thai software development companies to join its Small-to-Medium Enterprise Software Exchange (SMEse) project, which will provide cut-price Thai-language computer programs to the Thai private sector. To encourage developers and vendors to provide software for the project, Sipa has set up a website at www.smese.net as a marketing portal for…
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Hotels cough up B44m in rooms tax
PHUKET: With three weeks to go until the end of the tax year, Phuket’s hotels have paid more than 44 million baht in tax on room revenue to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr announced today. K. Anchalee said that 217 of the island’s hotels – considerably less than half – had paid. The OrBorJor would be…
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Cool response to Pian’s policy speech
PATONG: Policies outlined in a speech today by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin at his first municipality meeting received a cool reception from the dominant opposition party in the Patong Municipal Council.K. Pian listed a number of plans that he categorized as “priority projects” for Patong.These include: finishing the first stage of the waste water treatment plant and beginning its second…
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Court orders Boonkeng to quit land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court today overturned the judgment of the Provincial Court and ordered businessman Boonkeng Srisansuchart to vacate two plots of land, of 21 rai and 68 rai respectively, in the Panturat Hills next to the bypass road.K. Boonkeng is a major property developer and the owner of Srisuchart Transportation.The successful appeal was made by the Provincial Land…
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Andaman cluster revenue set to top B100bn
PHUKET CITY: Officials from the three “Andaman Cluster” provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi met at the Thavorn Grand Hotel yesterday to discuss progress on the cluster’s strategic development plan, which has now been in effect for nine months. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said, “The cluster’s private sector is now generating 95 billion baht in tourism revenue annually and…
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Tourism roadshow targets neighbors
PHUKET CITY: About 30 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi are taking a “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” to Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Johor Bahru and Singapore in a lightning tour that will end Saturday.The focus of the promotion is Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival, due to start on…
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ICEC can be anywhere – Gov
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has said he does not care where the controversial 2.5-billion-baht International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) is built, so long as it benefits Phuket.“We have wasted a lot of time on this already. The ICEC can be built anywhere that will create growth in Phuket. We won’t argue over it anymore,” he said.Previously, Gov…
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Saudi drowns at Laem Singh
KAMALA: Phuket’s rainy season surf has claimed another life, this time that of 27-year-old dentist Abdullah Alamri from Saudi Arabia.Pol Col Chawalit Niemwadee, Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Alamri drowned while trying to rescue a woman who was in difficulties off Laem Singh Beach on Tuesday, the same day that a French visitor died…
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Woman’s body found in garbage dump
KAMALA: Police have not yet been able to identify a woman’s body found at the Kamala garbage dump on Thursday.The Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niemwadee said that the police went to the scene after being called by local garbage collector Newin Sukprasert, who made the gruesome discovery.Col Chawalit said the woman, about 155 centimeters…
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Radical changes to Phuket government proposed
PHUKET CITY: How should Phuket be governed? That was the question asked yesterday at a National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) seminar at the Phuket Merlin Hotel.The seminar covered three main areas: the disadvantages of the current system of government in the province; what could replace it, and how residents would be likely to react to changes.The President of Phuket…
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Murdered politician’s daughter to run for his seat
PHANG NGA: The daughter of murdered politician Nithas Siribenjakul has announced she is to stand as a candidate in the election to replace him on the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrborJor) council, and she has urged the police to do more to find his killers.K. Nithas, who was chairman of the OrBorJor, was gunned down at Takuapa bus station…
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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