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 term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Phuket requires Covid-19 vaccination or 72-hour test
To help wrangle the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket, strict controls for everyone entering the island go into effect today until the end of April. The provincial communicable disease committee approved the measures in an effort to stop the proliferation of Covid-19 in the province. The new regulations state that only people who have received both doses of…
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Those flying into Phuket face Covid tests from tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, those who fly into Phuket International Airport will face a Covid-19 “Antigen Rapid Test” unless they have proof of being fully vaccinated or a previously negative Covid test within 72 hours of arriving. The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee announced the new rule last night, and will go through April 30. The measure also includes those coming from red…
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Almost 100,000 Sinovac doses delivered to Phuket for second round of jabs
Phuket is receiving almost 100,000 Covid-19 Sinovac doses to administer second vaccine rounds to those who received their first jabs earlier this month. 99,480 doses were delivered yesterday at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town. 30,000 doses will be delivered to Thalang Hospital, 20,000 to Patong Hospital and 10,000 to Chalong Hospital. Vachira hospital’s director posted last night detailing the vaccines’…
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Phuket requires Covid paperwork to enter from red zone provinces from Wednesday (April 21)
From this Wednesday Phuket joins other provinces after additional entry restrictions were announced today by the Phuket Governor. If you’re flying into Phuket you’ll need either a certificate of proof that you’ve had both doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine, a Covid-19-free certificate, not older than 72 hours, or you’ll have to do a Rapid Covid Test at a cost of…
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Survey underway as experts attempt to save James Bond island from erosion
Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is working with other environmental departments to determine how best to save a popular tourist attraction. Khao Ta Pu, commonly known as James Bond island, in the southern province of Phang Nga, is at risk of collapse, due to seawater erosion. The ministry is working with counterparts in the Department of Mineral Resources…
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Phuket’s July Sandbox no-quarantine model “needs a major revamp”
Thailand’s Sports and Tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is acknowledging that Phuket’s ‘Sandbox’ model for a no-quarantine re-opening in July will need “a major revamp”. As the Songkran travel bubble bursts and the monsoon season waves start to roll onto the island’s west coast beaches, Phuket’s scheduled July re-boot suddenly seems a long way off. Minister Phiphat says he plans to meet…
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Phuket begs Kolour attendees to come for Covid-19 testing
Health officials in Phuket put out a public statement this week compelling all foreigners who attended clubs and ‘Kolour’ events to report for Covid-19 testing. As many might expect, the response has been lacklustre at best. Spreading the message around the foreigner and expat community in Phuket, the message is aimed at the multitudes of people, mostly foreign who attended…
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Footbridges stop luxury yacht travelling from Phuket to Samui
Footbridges in Phuket stood in the way of a luxury yacht travelling from its home in Phuket to Koh Samui when the boat was too tall to pass. Police received a call around 8 pm last night from the truck driver after his trailer carrying the yacht had trouble getting under one of several bridges for walkers to pass over…
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Tourism officials slash Songkran travel expectations by half
The TAT, ever the optimists regarding anything tourism related, even domestic tourism, predict that the Bangkok clusters that have emerged in the week before the Songkran break could reduce traffic and spending by up to half. Today the CCSA is reporting 789 new infections and one additional death. 522 were local infections, mostly walk-ins to Bangkok hospitals, 259 were discovered through…
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Phuket student protests and is flunked as “not loyal to the nation”
After participating in protests for student’s rights, a Phuket student was barred from graduating 9th grade, moving from middle school to high school, charged with being “not loyal to the nation, institution of the monarchy”. The student had advocated against mandatory uniforms and for student’s liberties. He told reporters that the school started paying attention to his actions last year…
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16 more Covid infections reported today in Phuket
Phuket is reporting 16 more infections today. It follows visits from Bangkok and last weekend’s Kolour Beachside parties that have resulted in a number of new Covid infections. The number of new infections has reached 26. But deputy governor Vikrom Jakthee says the province has been successful in containing the new outbreak “due to its quick response measures which now include…
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UPDATE: Thai PM orders closure of bars and clubs in 41 provinces
UPDATE: The order to close bars and nightlife venues in 41 provinces will go into effect at midnight, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced this afternoon. Under emergency measures, the local governments in the other 36 provinces have the power to set restrictions and close venues if needed to control the Covid-19 situation. Original story… The order to close…
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Phuket orders 10-day closure for entertainment venues
This morning the government of Phuket has ordered the closure of all entertainment venues, bars, and nightclubs on the island of Phuket for 10 days. This shutdown will effectively cancel the upcoming Songkran festival for the popular holiday destination. Three entertainment venues have been closed for 14 days starting tomorrow aside from the blanket closures, as these venues were previously…
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If you went to a Kolour party in Phuket, go get tested for Covid-19
Partygoers who went to any of the Kolour Beachside parties in Phuket last weekend are asked to go to a local hospital for a Covid-19 test. The parties hosted more than 3,000 people, drawing concern after an attendee tested positive for Covid-19. The Phuket Provincial Government and Phuket Provincial Public Health Office released a statement yesterday advising all partygoers to get…
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Phuket Covid infections reported as officials struggle with clusters in Bangkok entertainment venues
A week ago Phuketians were rallying behind the proposal to get the island open to tourists, quarantine-free, from July. The first tourists arrived from Germany and the local hotel industry were confident everything was heading in the right direction. That was until last weekend when the ‘Bangkok nightlife cluster’ came to town in the form of 3 big parties, the…
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Covid-19 update: Spike in cases linked to nightlife in Bangkok and Phuket
Bar and club hopping has led to numerous clusters of Covid-19 infections and a spike in the number of daily infections in Thailand. 334 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Most of the cases are in Bangkok. The steep rise in new infections comes just days before the mass migration of…
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Phuket man shot by off-duty police officer now paralysed
A 25 year old Phuket man who was allegedly beaten and shot by an off-duty, drunken police officer, will never walk again as he remains paralysed in the hospital. The news, according to doctors at Vachira Phuket Hospital, comes after Aroon Thongplab, was shot from a close range, with the bullet hitting his spine. The man was a noodle vendor and…
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Weekend party event in Phuket reports positive Covid attendee
A band member from Bangkok who attended three ‘Kolour’ party events in Phuket over the weekend has tested positive for Covid-19. The main Kolour Beachside Main Event was held at Cafe Del Mar, along Kamala’s foreshore. Other pre and post event parties were also held at Shelter and Illuzion, both in Bangla Road, Phuket. The promoters Kolour Beachside have a…
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Another 50,000 Covid-19 vaccines arrive in Phuket
50,000 more doses of the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine are now in Phuket, arriving yesterday, bringing the total number of Sinovac jabs received to 100,000. This amount had been promised by Bangkok officials as part of the Thailand reopening plan that begins with Phuket reopening to international travellers on July 1st. In order to do this, 70% vaccination needs to be…
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Phuket hammering out Covid vaccines, beating out rest of Thailand | VIDEO
The tourism-heavy island of Phuket is ramping up its local vaccine roll out, beating out the rest of Thailand in an attempt to achieve a herd immunity before it is able to reopen to tourists. The island is holding vaccination drives, with 9 centres in place to handle the estimated amount of 460,000 residents who are scheduled to get jabs…
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16 German tourists kick off Phuket’s tentative re-opening plans
3 months away and Phuket will be Thailand’s first province to waive the mandatory quarantine stay for foreign travellers who have been vaccinated. Well, that remains the plan as Thailand starts to work through a 4-phase re-opening schedule which will take the rest of 2021 to roll out. The subjects of these re-opening experiments will be the expected tourists who,…
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“Mommy, there’s a snake!” – Expat in Phuket shares her story
The following story was written by Amy Sukwan, an American who has been living in Thailand for 7 years. To share a story with The Thaiger, click HERE. “Mommy, there’s a snake!” my 8 year old daughter Eliza said, waking me up in the middle of the night. I came out of our modest bungalow in Phuket at some unholy…
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Phuket Airport welcomes first 7 day quarantine travellers
In the early hours of Saturday, a flight arrived at Phuket International Airport welcoming the first travellers to benefit from the reduced mandatory quarantine launched on April 1. The reduction of the isolation period is part of the 4 stages of fully reopening Thailand to international tourism, planned to roll out over the next 8 months (and probably into early…
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Thailand News Today | Monk dies after C-19 vaccine, Phuket dusts off international airport | April 2
In today’s episode we look at…An elderly monk has died after being vaccinated for Covid-19, Phuket Airport’s international terminal is switching its light on for the first time in nearly a year, and an elaborate banquet set up in Chon Buri… but all the guest were dead. A 70 year old monk has died the day after he was injected…
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TAT says Phuket beaches have been “revitalised” during the pandemic
Phuket’s beaches are perhaps one of the only silver linings from the Covid pandemic, with marine life visibly rebounding after a long break from tourism, at least that’s what the Tourism Authority of Thailand says. The tourism officials say the huge reduction in tourist traffic has contributed to the Andaman Sea and coastlines becoming clearer than it has been in…
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Phuket International Airport getting ready for reopening
Phuket International Airport is readying for the island’s reopening by beginning the vaccination process of all employees. The mandatory inoculations is hoped to increase confidence among foreign visitors, as many who have received a Covid vaccine, can now enter the island with relaxed quarantine measures. Just yesterday, officials confirmed that 2 flights from Germany will kick off the airport’s reopening,…
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Confirmed, expats in Phuket will receive Covid-19 vaccines
(Links to registration forms below) Officials confirmed yesterday that expats in Phuket will be included and receive Covid-19 vaccines as part of the Thai government’s vaccination scheme. The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee enacts all Coronavirus policy locally, and an important member, Dr Chalermpong of Vachira Phuket Hospital, announced today that foreigners will also receive the Covid vaccines. A new online…
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Thailand’s 4-phase reopening, starting today
This is not an April fool’s joke. Thailand has set a tentative 4-phase plan starting April 1 for reopening the borders, lifting restrictions, and relaxing quarantine periods, allowing international travel to recommence in a safe manner. As always, this a currently a PLAN and has not been confirmed by the Thai government at this stage. The planned rollout has a…
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Thai PM will consider waiving quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Phuket
The Thai PM says he’s willing to consider a call from the Phuket business community to allow vaccinated foreigners to bypass quarantine. Prayut Chan-o-cha says in order to compete with other countries popular with tourists, Phuket plans to re-open fully to vaccinated foreigners from July, meaning the government must make sure the country’s vaccine rollout is on track. “The point…
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Phuket sets questionable goal of vaccinating 50,000 in 7 days
Phuket is hoping to inoculate 50,000 people within 7 days of the vaccine’s delivery to the island. The governor of the island, Narong Woonciew is asking for residents to register for the vaccine to get the ball rolling as soon as possible to help make the island ready for a possible July reopening. “We will certainly receive 100,000 doses of vaccines…
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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