Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Police get training in handling bombs
PHUKET CITY: The Special Operations Unit (SOU) of Phuket Provincial Police are receiving some timely training in the use of blast suppression blankets – commonly known as bomb blankets – from Frank Boyd, a Supervisory Security Specialist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at the US Embassy in Bangkok. Pol Capt Charkrawat Buntaweekulsawat, the Chief of Phuket SOU, stressed that…
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Ferry rules crackdown sparks fears of “mob’
THALANG: The Marine Office today began enforcing rules barring ferries from carrying both passengers and cargo, and limiting the number of passengers per ferry on all boats operating from the Bang Rong Pier, sparking fears that ferry operators may oppose the crackdown with a mob.The move to enforce maritime safety regulations follows the deaths of 10 people in the sinking…
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Fed Cup tennis comes to Phuket
PATONG: A 4,000-seat tennis court will be built in Patong so that Phuket can host one of the Group II quarterfinals of the premier international women’s tennis competition, the Federation Cup, between Thailand and Croatia, on April 23 and 24.The Federation Cup is an annual team tennis competition. After round-robin play last year between 88 countries, 16 teams have won…
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Bypass project nears halfway mark
PHUKET: Motorists are asked not to be unduly alarmed by the sound of explosions as they travel along the bypass road to do their weekend shopping – it’s all part of the Government’s 111-million-baht project to widen Chalermprakiat Ror IX Rd to make for room for Phuket’s ever-growing number of vehicles. Boonyakiat Kongketyai, government engineer with the Highway Department and…
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Information “the key’ to restoring tourism
BERLIN: Prospective visitors to Asia have indicated that they would like more information about the areas hit by the December 26 tsunami, and cite health and sanitation as their main concerns, according to the results of a survey released on March 10 at ITB Berlin, the international tourism industry’s premier expo.The findings of the Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research (PTGTIR),…
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Tsunami memorial funding cut back
PHANG NGA: The head of the Phang Nga office of the Ministry of Culture today told the Gazette that the Cabinet this week approved an initial budget of 50 million baht for construction of a 1.5-billion-baht tsunami memorial in Bang Niang.The original idea for the memorial park called for a 2-billion-baht high-tech dome off the beach at Bang Niang, a…
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“Jealous’ man admits stabbing Brit
KRABI: The taxi driver who allegedly stabbed Briton Richard Mark Collins to death in a jealous rage on the evening of March 8 has confessed to killing Mr Collins, but claims he acted in self-defense.The suspect, 29-year-old Uthane Douangnoi, is being held in the Krabi Provincial Court jail while he awaits a court appearance on a charge of murder.According to…
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Lookout towers to be built at beaches
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) intends to build 12 permanent watchtowers, where observers can watch for signs of future tsunamis, and also monitor the safety of tourists.Some of the towers will replace existing lifeguard stations; others will be completely new.OrBorJor Vice-President Sutin Lean-Udom said there would eventually be three towers around Kata and Karon; three in Patong…
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Tsunami victim stats updated
PHUKET: The Tsunami Center in Phuket has issued updated statistics of the number of victims from the December 26 tsunami, following deduplication of lists.The total number of dead from the tsunami is now officially 5,395 people, comprising 1,926 Thais, 1,953 foreigners and 1,516 of as-yet-unidentified nationality.A total of 8,457 people were injured – 6,065 Thais and 2,392 foreigners. Still missing…
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Japanese tsunami warning plan outlined
PHUKET: Japanese seismologists have recommended that a Japanese tsunami early warning system be installed in the deep ocean and linked to beaches along the Andaman coast of Thailand that were hit by the December 26 tsunami.The Tokyo University team, led by Professor Kimiro Meguro, unveiled the proposal during a meeting today at Phuket Provincial Hall with Vice-Governor Supachai Yuvaboon.The scientists…
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Tsunami blame report to be buried
BANGKOK (The Nation): The public will not hear whether the Meteorological Department failed in its duty to warn people about December’s devastating tsunami, Smith Thammasaroj, the chief of the investigation into the disaster, said yesterday.K. Smith said a report into the incident might never be written.He said that he would conceal a tsunami report from the public out of patriotism…
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Govt slashes Patong, Kamala rebuilding funds
PHUKET CITY: The Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of 200 million baht to rebuild Patong Beach and a further 100 million baht to rebuild Kamala Beach, together totaling less than a third of the original budgets Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkul requested.At a meeting of district chiefs and other top-ranking provincial officials, chaired by Governor Udomsak today, Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit announced…
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Call to subsidize airlines’ costs
PHUKET: The Chairman of Orient Thai Airlines has called upon the government to subsidize airlines using Phuket International Airport as a way to boost tourism to the island.Udom Tantiprasongchai said yesterday that his airline would like to see the government waive the airport departure tax, offer free visas on arrival to passengers and excuse airlines from paying landing and navigation…
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Ferry death toll rises to nine
KOH YAO: Nine people drowned when the overloaded passenger ferry Rungroj capsized and sank in heavy seas off Naka Island Saturday afternoon. One person is still missing. Of the nine dead, five were children and three others were women. The 13-meter vessel had left Bang Rong pier in Thalang District and was bound for Koh Yao Noi at about 3…
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Fortune 500 firms step in to help
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on Friday announced the top five mid- and long-term priorities that US Fortune 500 companies can help with, following the December 26 tsunami.Governor Udomsak met with James Lee Witt, former Director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and fellow consultants from James Lee Witt Associates, which provides disaster recovery and mitigation management consultancy…
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Tsunami alarm test fails to convince public
PATONG: The resort town’s new early warning system encountered a few hiccups during its first test on Friday, with one witness describing it as sounding like “an announcement at a temple fair”.Two of the seven sirens installed throughout Patong Municipality failed to go off,and even when this had been rectified, the alarms were not audible to everyone, although the manufacturers…
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B2m aid theft probe extended
PHUKET: The deadline for completion of the vice-gubernatorial investigation into the theft of more than 2 million baht of tsunami aid money has been extended. It will now conclude on March 11, Governor Usdomsak Usawarangkura said.The original deadline for the investigation – led by Vice-Governor Supachai Yuwaboon and separate from the criminal investigation by the police – was March 2.However,…
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Quake worry sparks reservoir rethink
PHUKET: Plans to build a dam at Bang Niew Dum in Thalang District have been ditched and new plans are being drawn so that the dam will be more resistant to earthquake tremors.Wit Wonggamonchoon, Chief of the Surat Thani-based Irrigation Construction Region 5 office, told the Gazette, “The earthquake off Indonesia was 9.5 on the Richter scale.” Shocks from the…
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Beauties for Bangla
PHUKET: Some 44 contestants in the 2005 Miss Thailand Universe competition will arrive in Phuket on March 17 for a one-week stay on the island. The visit is intended to help bring tourists back to Phuket in the aftermath of the tsunami. When not out promoting tourism, the Thai beauties will be cloistered at the Kata Beach Resort.Resort owner Pamuke…
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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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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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Qantas offers special deal to Phuket
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Australian national carrier Qantas and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have launched a joint “Rediscover Thailand” marketing campaign, aimed at helping Phuket recover from the December 26 tsunami.“Rediscover Thailand” will offer tourists a range of specially-priced packages, including one to Phuket including eight nights’ accommodation and airport transfers from A$1,089 (32,760 baht) per person, excluding taxes.The first…
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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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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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Progress in tsunami fund theft case
PHUKET: Phuket City Police say they have promising leads relating to the apparent theft of more than 2 million baht in government tsunami relief funds, and expect to make an arrest soon.The funds were reported missing on February 15 by Metha Mekarat, Head of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), who said 2.05 million baht had gone…
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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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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…
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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