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.
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Farmers demand justice
PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 villagers gathered this morning to complain to Phuket Governer CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi about land problems. The Provincial Administration Organization building was jammed with villagers, including farmers, planters and representatives of many communities who complained that, following the SorPorKor investigation, their land had been declared as encroaching on forest preserve areas – the so-called Zone C…
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“Illegal’ restaurant to be demolished
KALIM: A top police general today said a well-known restaurant just north of Patong occupies SorPorKor 4-01 land, and will have to be knocked down. The commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, Pol Lt Gen Chatt Kuldiloke was in Phuket to check on the land investigation work done by his officers, and visited the restaurant, the Suangsawan (Sunset Point Restaurant…
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Land probe: nine premises raided
PHUKET: Armed with warrants, officers from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok and police from Phuket made early-morning raids on nine premises in Phuket this morning. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that the premises searched belonged to people suspected of being involved with fugitive land official Thawatchai Anukul in falsifying land documents.…
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Police seize mystery powder
PHUKET TOWN: Following a tip-off, police raided a house on Wichit Songkhram Rd yesterday and seized more than 200 tonnes of powdered mineral. Some 10 police officers from the Crime Suppression Division Region 5, led by Pol Col Itti Nantapruksa, Superintendent, and Pol Lt Col Karn Lekhawanich, Deputy Superintendent, raided 64/1-2 Wichit Songkhram Rd about 6:30 pm. Supanee Rojananont, Duty…
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Visa charges: Correction
PHUKET: Due to wrong information supplied to us by the Immigration Department in Bangkok, the Gazette story detailing new visa charges to be imposed contained an error in the date on which the new charges will come into force. The correct date, as supplied to us by the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office, is August 26 this year. All other information…
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Dates set for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: This year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival is scheduled to take place from September 25 to October 5, with the Speaker of the Thai Parliament, Uthai Pimjaichon, presiding over events. Officials have issued a warning that last year’s crackdown on fireworks and illegal weapons will be repeated, along with checks on health standards and sanitation at roadside food stalls. Details of…
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SorPorKor probe is unjust – farmers
PHUKET TOWN: Irritated and scared by the ongoing land title investigation, some 200 farmers holding SorPorKor 4-01 land papers assembled at the Phuket Provincial Hall this morning after hearing a rumor that Deputy Minister of Agriculture Newin Chidchob would be there. Prayad Poombua, 59, who farms eight rai of SorPorKor land in Chalong, told the Gazette that he and the…
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Visa hikes “no threat to tourism’
PHUKET TOWN: The tourism industry will be able to absorb increased visa rates and still lift visitor numbers, according to spokespeople for tour operators and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Napasorn Kakai, Deputy Director of the local TAT, told the Gazette that any negative effects would be short-term and would end once tour operators absorbed the cost in their…
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Luxury liner returns to Phuket
CAPE PANWA: The luxury liner SuperStar Virgo returned yesterday to dock at Phuket’s deep sea port at Cape Panwa, a sign that the Sars scare is well and truly history. “The SuperStar Virgo has been in Perth for the past three months because of the Sars outbreak,” said Chutiman Topanyaruang, General Manager of Star Cruises, which owns the ship. “However,…
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Phuket prepares to be ICT city
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi today presided over a seminar to prepare provincial administrators for the island’s imminent transformation into Thailand’s first high-tech hub, under the Information Technology and Communications (ICT) Ministry’s “ICT City Project”. The seminar, organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, was attended by more than…
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Limo drivers win victory over “black’ taxis
MAI KHAO: Limousine drivers at the airport went back to work at 5 pm today after receiving a written assurance that “black” taxis will be barred from the airport and car park except in certain specific circumstances. The assurance, from the Provincial Government, stated that black taxi drivers will be allowed to drop passengers at the airport but will not…
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New three-digit lottery plan in place
PHUKET TOWN: Lottery agents were given registration details today in preparation for the new government lottery that will begin August 1 and which is aimed at subverting the popular underground lottery in which punters choose just three numbers. Each of 100 lottery agents in Phuket may have up to 50 lottery salespeople, and agencies and dealers will have to provide…
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Fugitive land officer arrested in Ranong
RANONG (Kom Chad Luek): Fugitive land official Bunchoo Limraksasin was arrested yesterday evening in Ranong province after returning from the Andaman Club hotel and casino on Koh Son, Burma, where, police said, he had been hiding since last Friday. Bunchoo is the second wanted land official to be caught, following the arrest of Uru Thipthep on July 13. A third,…
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Huge increase in visa fees next year
PHUKET: Starting January 1 next year, visa fees across the board will be increased dramatically, the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok confirmed today. The new visa fees will be: • Transit visa, single entry, 800 baht (currently 200 baht). • Tourist visa, single entry, 1,000 baht (currently 300 baht). • Non-immigrant visa, single entry, 2,000 baht (500 baht). • Non-immigrant visa,…
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Minimum wages for foreigners hiked
PHUKET: Companies have until July 10 next year to increase to new minimum rates the wages of foreign employees on one-year permits to stay, Pol Capt Krissarat Nuesen of the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office, told the Gazette yesterday.The new minimum monthly wage rates, which vary according to nationality, will be:• Japanese, Americans and Canadians: 60,000 baht (currently 40,000 baht).• Europeans…
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Drivers strike in protest of “black’ taxis
MAI KHAO: Limousine drivers at Phuket International Airport went on strike this morning to pressure the provincial government into controlling freelance “black” taxis. The limousine drivers said that over the past six months they had sent letters to everyone from Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, pleading with them to control the black taxis, which were taking…
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Fugitive land officials “in the South’
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek/The Nation): Pol Maj Gen Pansiri Prapawat, Deputy Commissioner for General Investigation, has revealed that police believe two fugitive former land officials are hiding somewhere in the South. The two wanted men are Bunchoo Limraksasin, formerly an officer in the Kathu District Land Office who was subsequently posted to Ubon Ratchathani, and Thawatchai Anukul, former chief registrar…
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Dam funding approved “in principle’
PHUKET: Rapid development of Phuket in the past few years has resulted in the island’s current water supply problems, Irrigation Project Director Watchara Arepornsiri said today. Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenond and his team were in Phuket on Friday to meet with Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) governor Wanchai Kuprasert and officials of the Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office to discuss ways…
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Tourist-speak training for police
PHUKET TOWN: Island police are undergoing a brief course aimed at giving them the basics of tourist-speak in English and Japanese and advice on how to deal with other practical issues involving visitors. The Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, told a seminar of 200 officers at the ST Plaza Hotel in Phuket Town today that…
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Diplomats praise island tourism
KARON: Bangkok-based diplomats representing 20 Asian and European countries have completed a tour of Phuket and Samui that was designed to promote tourism to the islands following the Sars scare. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) organized the study tour for ambassadors, consuls and their spouses between July 18 and 20. The party of…
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They’re back! Tourist numbers double in June
PHUKET: The latest figures on arrivals and departures at Phuket International Airport indicate that people are beginning to travel again in substantial numbers. The total of international passengers landing and leaving the island increased by 133% in June compared to May. June saw 602 international flights come and go, carrying 74,354 people, compared to the previous month when 31,806 people…
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No more free water – Mayor
PHUKET TOWN: Reacting to the land investigators’ comments about ownership of tin mines, the Mayor of Phuket Town has warned that an end is approaching to the city’s free ride on the tin mines for water. “We’ve been doing a good deed for the city for quite some time,” Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok told the Gazette yesterday. “Now we have to…
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Raids bring third land scandal arrest
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek): Police arrested Panthong Na Ranong, a former consultant of the New Aspiration Party (Kwamwangmai), during raids on Bangkok properties in Huay Khwang and Phra Khanong yesterday. Panthong, who was charged with conspiracy to falsify documents, was the third person arrested in investigations concerning fake land titles in Phuket. He was taken to the Crime Suppression Division…
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Phuket joins Portland in municipal project
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town officials will work together with counterparts from the city of Portland, Oregon, over the next two years in an effort to improve the city through mutual cooperation and an exchange of urban management expertise. The project, which is part of the International City/County Management Association’s CityLinks Program, will also include Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen municipalities.…
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Phuket to cement links with Andamans
PHUKET: Closer ties are to be established between Phuket and Port Blair, capital of the remote and intriguing Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Approximately halfway between Thailand and India, the islands were visited by Marco Polo and have a colorful history as a base for pirates and home for head-hunters. One tribe reportedly communes with the dead. Today the islands are…
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Phuket Town wins Ministry award
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Municipality will receive a 2 million-baht prize from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) for placing fourth in terms of administrative excellence among southern Thailand’s Tessaban districts. The announcement was made at the Phuket Town municipal offices today by Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok. The MoI awards were allotted to three outstanding Provincial Administration Organizations (OrBorJor) in Thailand, 30…
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Alert over landslide risk
PHUKET: The Department of Mineral Resources has placed Phuket on a list of provinces that are susceptible to dangerous landslides during the monsoon season. Apichai Chiensirikul, Chief of Mineral Resources at the Phuket Provincial Industrial Office, told the Gazette that his section would inspect the island for areas where landslides were most likely and compile details before the onset of…
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Hotels urged to watch for suspicious foreigners
PHUKET TOWN: The Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, last night appealed for hotel and resort staff to be on the lookout for foreigners acting suspiciously, in order to aid police in solving crimes committed by tourists. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Thai Hospitality Club of Phuket, held at The Metropole hotel, Col Apirak…
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Beachside villagers resist expulsion
CHERNG TALAY: Villagers in Cherng Talay today called a press conference to demand fair treatment as a deadline set by Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi for them to vacate public land expired. On March 16, the Governor gave the villagers four months to quit the beach and other pieces of land near the Laguna resort complex after no records of ownership…
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Take a policeman home
CHALONG: Chalong police are now more visible around the clock in response to an increase in muggings in the Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn areas. Pol Col Sati Malakanond, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette, “It’s not just tourists that have been attacked. So have locals and foreign residents running businesses.” Police officers are now more visible at…
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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