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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Eight held in immigration sweeps
PHUKET TOWN: Eight foreigners were arrested by Immigration Police yesterday and today in a series of sweeps through Patong, Kata and Karon. The raids coincided with a visit to Phuket by Pol Lt Gen Chanvut Vajrabukka, the Bangkok-based Director of Immigration, who came to Phuket to “motivate the Phuket office” in their work tracking down foreigners staying or working illegally…
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Miss Andaman to win B1m
PHUKET: Kittiya Chaiyo, 17, from Cherng Talay is Phuket’s last hope in the Miss Andaman 2002 beauty contest, with competitors chasing a million-baht prize and the chance to spend a year promoting the Andaman region throughout Thailand. Sakda Sutthisathit, chairman of the pageant’s organizing committee, explained that the contest is a joint effort by the Chambers of Commerce of Ranong,…
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Lightning blamed for Customs boat blaze
AO MAKHAM: Lightning may have caused a fire aboard a 50-foot Customs inspection boat moored at the Deep Sea Port at about 10 pm on Sunday. Chanai Nakzsup, the Transportation Administrator at the Phuket Harbor Master’s Office, said, “I saw the top of the boat was on fire, and everybody was helping to put it out.” He added that it…
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Patong is safe, says Deputy PM
PATONG: Deputy Prime Minister Vishanu Krua-ngam officially launched the tourism high season last night and assured a throng of carnival-goers that Patong is a safe place. As Patong enjoyed the party, K. Vishanu said of his evening in the popular holiday town, “I didn’t see anything unusual that would cause worry either among tourists or organizers.” This year’s one-day season-opening…
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Power bill payment hours extended
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) announced yesterday that electricity bills can now be paid on Saturdays at its offices in Phuket Town. Suthep Jitseree, Assistant Manager, said the 9 am-noon service was experimental until December 28 and would continue if there was sufficient demand. The office is at 173 Thalang Rd, Tambon Talad Yai, Phuket Town. For…
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Loft antiques shop raided
PHUKET TOWN: The Loft, an antiques shop on Thalang Rd, was raided this morning by police officers and specialists from the Ministry of Culture. The raid came after allegations that the owners had no license to sell antiques, and that they had been selling antique Buddha images, which is illegal with or without a license. Official interest in the shop…
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Floating body a murder mystery
PHUKET: Police have few clues in the murder of a man whose body was found floating in the sea near Koh Maiton on Wednesday. The body – probably that of a fisherman – bore at least nine stab wounds on the back and stomach, and had been in the water about six days. It was clad only in a yellow…
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Illegal immigration arrests rise
PHUKET TOWN: The number of arrests for illegal immigration has risen, police statistics for October 1-25 reveal. In August, 195 people were arrested for illegal immigration, but the latest reported number was 239. There were 107 gambling raids, with 172 people arrested. The statistics show 79 narcotics cases with 81 people arrested, including 35 for offenses involving ya bah (methamphetamine).…
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17 die in motorbike accidents
PHUKET: The island’s roads claimed at least one dead motorbike rider every two days between August 20 and September 20, the latest figures reveal. Statistics from Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals show that motorcycle accidents claimed 17 lives in the period, the same number as in the previous 31 days. The statistics show that 851 people were injured on…
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Bomb squad officers croaked
PHUKET TOWN: A bomb alert forced the closure of Yaowaraj Rd between Thalang Rd and Dibuk Rd for several hours last night. Rattana Ungtrakul, 47, called police after finding a package in the basket of her motorbike, which was parked outside her curtain shop. She explained that it was a well-wrapped white post-office-style parcel addressed to her shop, with the…
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Police set up Patong security center
PATONG: Sixty police officers from a variety of units met last night to coordinate security in the Patong area. The Kathu Police Station will become the Phuket Provincial Police Center in order to make the tourists feel more security at Patong beach. The meeting brought together officers from Phuket Immigration Police, Kathu Police, the Tourist Police, the Highway Police, the…
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Hotels urged to act on security
PHUKET TOWN: Thailand was a peaceful place but additional security measures were needed as a precaution, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told a special meeting of the Hospitality Club of Phuket today. He said he was satisfied with the measures in place for the 17th Patong Carnival, which marks the opening of the high season for Phuket tourism on Friday.…
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Center for disabled to open soon
PHUKET TOWN: A new training center for the disabled will open next month on Montri Rd, opposite the Seng Ho bookstore. Formerly a government warehouse, the two-story center will have classrooms and a meeting room equipped for training in computer skills, arts and crafts, languages and other studies. Sawai Promjinda, President of the Phuket Association of Disabled People (ADP), said…
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Deadline for local businesses
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2003 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 5:30 pm this Thursday, 31 October, to enter (or update) their listings. Any entries made after the deadline will not appear in the hard-copy book until January 2004. Standard listings are free of charge, but they are limited to genuine businesses in Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi…
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Politician injured in hammer attack
PHUKET TOWN: Patong politician and lawyer Sarayuth Mullum was attacked by a hammer-wielding assailant yesterday, ending up in hospital with seven stitches in his scalp and his right arm in plaster. K. Sarayuth had just finished lunch with Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr and her husband at the Sala Muslim restaurant on Surin Rd when the assault took place. His attacker…
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Hunt is on for Jumbo Junior
CHERNG TALAY: A Jumbo Junior competition for children will be held next month as part of an ongoing project to raise money for mistreated elephants. The competition will not be only about physical size but also about having a larger-than-life personality, bouncing good health and super-sized intelligence and leadership abilities. Dusit Laguna Resort Phuket has organized activities on November 25…
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Interior Minister in snap visit to Patong
PHUKET: Recently appointed Minister of Interior Wan Muhamad Nor Matha last night made an impromptu three-hour inspection tour of Patong and stayed at the Royal Paradise Hotel. The minister made his first public appearance in Phuket earlier in the day at a meeting of about 100 police and government officers and community leaders at Phuket Provincial Hall. K. Wan Nor…
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Police pounce on bag snatchers
PATONG: Three bag snatchers were caught in Patong over the weekend soon after they ran off with gear belonging to a Russian couple on vacation in Phuket. The bag snatchers chose the wrong time to strike because police security was tight on Saturday as Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, Superintendent of Kathu police station, made the rounds of Patong’s beachfront with…
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Missing teacher found dead
PHANG NGA: The body of a teacher who went missing while on a fishing trip was found in a canal near the Sarasin Bridge on Friday. Sophol Paenklai, 48, who taught at a school in Tai Muang district, “went out to catch fish and fell into the water by accident,” said Apidaj Chuaykua, Pol Capt of Kok Kloy Police Station…
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Patong Festival planning finalized
PHUKET TOWN: A last-minute conference yesterday finalized planning for Patong’s one-day carnival on November 1 to mark the opening of the tourism high season. “We have the cooperation of police to handle security and to ensure the convenience of people who join our carnival, all day and all evening,” said spokewoman Wallee Pachantabutr, General Manager of the Impiana Phuket Cabana.…
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Phuket scoops eight tourism awards
PHUKET: Phuket has proven to be the country’s leading tourism destination with the announcement of two national Tourism Awards and six Tourist Guide Awards going to the province. Laguna Phuket took the Best Tourist Resort Accommodation Outstanding Performance Award 2002 while Phuket FantaSea received the Best Attraction Award 2002. Phuket’s Paitoon Monpanthong proved to be a star guide for the…
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Gov rebuts foreign governments’ warnings
PHUKET: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has hastened to reassure travelers that Phuket is safe, following advisories from a number of Western governments – most recently Denmark and Sweden – that their nationals should be cautious about traveling to Thailand, and especially to tourist areas such as Patong. Gov Pongpayome thanked the two countries for their concern but stressed, “We…
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Free concert for flood relief
PHUKET TOWN: Tesco-Lotus Superstore will stage a free concert this Saturday (October 26) to collect relief items for victims of the floods in Northern Thailand and Isarn. Original artists featured on the limited-release CD “Pleng Phuket” (called “Pleasant Tunes of Phuket” in English), along with Phuket student bands, will take to the stage in the supercenter’s carpark from 2 pm…
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Star Tour expecting Thailand bookings to double
PHUKET TOWN: Scandinavian tourists are heading for Thailand rather than Bali in the coming high season, said representatives of the giant Swedish company Star Tour this afternoon. A company executive said that Star Tour expects to bring 80,000 tourists to Thailand in the coming high season, most of whom will come to Phuket. This is twice the usual number. Five…
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Southern economy looks good: central bank
PHUKET TOWN: A review of the main industries in southern Thailand indicates a healthy outlook for the local economy, said Boonlert Luengnakthongdee, Director of Operations, Bank of Thailand, Southern Region, on Thursday. Speaking at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, at a meeting with business leaders and provincial officers from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, K. Boonlert said, “We are quite…
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Tax explained to eco-tour companies
PHUKET TOWN: About 20 companies that make up the Phuket Eco-Tourism Association (PETA) have had the tax system explained in detail to them by the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office (PPRO). The four-hour meeting at the Royal Phuket City Hotel was requested by PETA “because many members were asked for taxes retrospectively,” said Soonthorn Sakulsan, President of the PETA. “Some were…
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Bali’s loss is Phuket’s gain
PHUKET: Bali’s loss has been Phuket’s gain, it seems, with hotel bookings on the island soaring as holidaymakers and conference organizers switch following the Kuta bombing. A prime indicator is the Phuket.Com hotel booking website, which has seen a huge surge in bookings over the past few days. Neil Cumming, the company’s CEO, told the Gazette, “The big change for…
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Security strategy set for Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, held a meeting today attended by more than 40 police officers and about 50 other people from Phuket Town, including entertainment venue managers, tuk-tuk drivers and religious leaders, to work out how to improve security strategy after the Bali bombing. Col Paween told the meeting, “From what happened…
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Project Raindrop drips to a close
PHUKET: They came, they seeded, and the rain fell. And now the great Phuket rainmaking project is drawing to a close. But has it worked? Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi was pleased enough with the results to host a dinner last night at the Royal Paradise Hotel, Patong, for the team of 34 rainmakers, who return to Bangkok in a…
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Patong election puts brakes on festival
PATONG: The annual festival to mark the first day of the high season has been postponed indefinitely, Pattanapong Aikwanich, President of Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, K. Pattanapong said, “The Patong Municipal Council has disbanded so there are no councilors to help organize the event. This has forced us to…
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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