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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Sponsored Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers plenty of excitement and adventure, but the local healthcare system can be complex to navigate as an expat. From unique health risks to high costs at private hospitals, having a comprehensive health insurance plan is essential....
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Phuket holds vaccine administration rehearsal as it waits for green light
Phuket is rehearsing procedures to ready themselves for the Covid‐19 vaccine administration green light. A rehearsal at Vachira Hospital’s Lan Muang Khao open area was held late yesterday to iron out any kinks in the administration process. Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong watched over the procedures along with other health officials. Pichet says the first vaccine round of 4,000 doses…
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Phuket police officer charged with attempted murder for shooting and critically injuring a noodle vendor
The drunk, off-duty police officer in Phuket who has caught on camera shooting and beating a noodle vendor on Bangla Road is now facing attempted murder charges as well as charges of carrying a firearm in public without a necessary reason and firing a weapon in a public area. The commander of the Phuket police station said he ordered investigators…
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Thai Vietjet resumes Phuket-Chiang Rai flights, launches promotion on air fare
The following is a press release from Thai Vietjet on its new promotion “Welcome Back to the Sky” and the resumption of Phuket-Chiang Rai flights. Thai Vietjet today announced the flight resumption of its domestic cross-regional service between Phuket – Chiang Rai, in response to the increasing travel demand after the government began relaxing travel measures in each province. The…
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Drunk police officer shoots and beats vendor on Bangla Road in Phuket
A Phuket police officer was caught on camera beating and shooting at a noodle vendor on Bangla Road in Patong, critically injuring the young man. Reports vary on exactly what happened before the shooting, but apparently the police officer had been drinking until nearly dawn this morning before the incident. Surveillance camera footage shows the 25 year old vendor suddenly…
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Officials consider easing Bangkok restrictions, may allow alcohol in restaurants, re-opening of boxing venues
The government’s Covid-19 task force is set to meet on Sunday to discuss the easing of restrictions in Bangkok, a move which may include allowing alcohol in restaurants and re-opening boxing stadiums. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration will review current restrictions and if any are lifted, that is expected to take effect immediately or early next week. According to…
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Why do foreign men like Thai women? A Thaiger vlogger wants to know
Why do foreign men like Thai women? Bibi, a vlogger for The Thaiger, went out to the Patong walking street in Phuket (before Covid-19) and asked foreign men “do you like Thai girls?”
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70 wealthy foreign tourists will be the first to undergo “villa quarantine” at Phuket luxury resort
Thailand is targeting a specific group of tourists. The rich. 70 foreign tourists are set to arrive on Sunday and a government spokesperson says they’ll be the first to undergo “villa quarantine.” They’ll spend their mandatory quarantine at a luxury resort in Phuket. The group of 70 visitors from Brazil, Canada, France, Denmark, Ukraine and the United States are all…
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Thai government says tourism-dependent locations will get high priority in vaccination drive
The government’s Covid-19 task force says places like Phuket and Pattaya, which are heavily reliant on international tourism, will be considered “high priority” for vaccination. The Pattaya News reports that Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday. The southern island of Phuket – along with a number of…
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Economy expert says Phuket’s income per capita could soon fall below poverty line
A Phuket tourism economy expert says Phuket’s income per capita could soon fall below the provincial poverty line if something isn’t done to increase revenue. Assistant Professor Chayanon Phucharoen, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Prince of Songkla University Phuket campus, says the news is based off a report by the university. In it, the…
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Chinese New Year celebrations stark reminder of Covid’s impact on Phuket
The hope of Phuket reviving tourism for the Chinese New Year is dimming with each passing hour today as streets remain quiet with only locals visiting the area’s Chinese shrines in a stark reminder of the Covid pandemic having lasting effects on Thailand. Even decorations seem to be less vibrant than previous years as Thai-Chinese placed minimal decor outside their…
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Chinese New Year – The Year of the Ox – Thailand 2021 | VIDEO
The Thaiger visited the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town this morning where the island’s huge Thai-Chinese community flock to commemorate Chinese New Year. So what’s the annual Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, all about? Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar and takes place in January…
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Phuket’s tourism representatives petition PM over ban on local vaccine purchase
Representatives from various tourism associations on the southern island of Phuket have reacted with dismay to a government ban on local administrations and the private sector purchasing Covid-19 vaccines. In January, the Public Health Minister stated that the government was not opposed to local authorities purchasing their own vaccine supplies, provided the jabs had been approved by the Food and…
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Officials brainstorm ideas to revive Phuket tourism
Government officials and business representatives on the resort island of Phuket have been busy brainstorming various proposals to revive tourism, with many calling for quarantine requirements to be waived for vaccinated foreigners. The Bangkok Post reports that Bhummikitti Raktaengam from the Phuket Tourism Association says foreign tourists who can prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 should be allowed to enter…
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How Thai mega-villa buyers have reignited Phuket’s luxury real estate market in the downturn
The following story was submitted by Bill Barnett, founder and managing director of C9 Hotelworks. Phuket’s sizable mega-villa property sector has experienced an unexpected surge in multi-million-dollar sales over the past year as Thai buyers sought refuge in the global Covid-19 crisis. Over 5 billion baht (approximately $167 million USD) in primary and secondary high-end properties transacted at the height…
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Tourism Minister to request 5 million vaccine doses for tourism sector
The Tourism Minister is planning to meet with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to request 5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for workers across 7 tourist cities. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is also pushing for a vaccine passport scheme that would allow international tourists to return in the third quarter of the year. The 5 million vaccine doses would cover 2.5 million tourism…
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HM the King donates 2 tonnes of pet food to Soi Dog Foundation
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has donated 2 tonnes of dog and cat food to the Soi Dog Foundation, as well as a number of other animal welfare organisations. The donation marks the birthday of Chao Khun Phrasinat Philas Kalayanee Kalayani, His Majesty’s royal noble consort. The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at…
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Phuket lifeguards warn beachgoers after 2 near-drownings in a day
Phuket lifeguards are urging beachgoers on the southern island to be “careful when doing water activities and swim only in the areas marked as safe” as well as to “follow lifeguards’ suggestions” after a 6 year old girl and a Russian man were plucked from the water after getting into difficulty in 1 day. The Nai Harn beach chief lifeguard…
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Singapore Airlines to offer flights to Phuket next month
Singapore Airlines plans to offer flights to Phuket starting on March 4. Singapore-Phuket flights operated on the B737-800 aircraft which have 12 business class seats and 150 economy class seats. The new route follows a merger with the airline’s subsidiarity Silk Air. The Silk Air routes will progressively be transferred and 9 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft will be reassigned to…
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UPDATE: Thailand Covid zones and your restrictions
Which of the five coloured zones are you living in? A green zone? Red zone? Pale red zone? hat’s the difference and what’s open and what’s not? If you’re not in Samut Sakhon, the coastal province just south west of Bangkok, then some of the restrictions imposed by the CCSA have recently been lifted. Here’s a quick look at what’s…
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Body dumped on the roadside in Phuket
A woman’s body was discovered wrapped in blankets on the roadside between Patong and Karon yesterday morning. Police and the local Kusoldharm Foundation headed to the location near the Phuket Provincial office of the Agricultural Land offices on Patak Road, Karon, in response to a report of what appeared to be a dead body on the side of the road.…
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Hotels and restaurants raided, 50 arrested for allegedly cheating “We Travel Together” subsidy scheme
Several hotels and restaurants in Phuket and Chaiyaphum were raided this morning and 50 people were arrested for allegedly stealing from the government subsidy scheme “We Travel Together.” The scheme was launched to help businesses that were financially hit by the lack of tourists during the Covid-19 pandemic and to stimulate the battered economy. Last month, the Tourism Authority of…
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Phuket eases restrictions, bars back to late-night hours
Things are getting back to normal in Phuket. The provincial government eased disease control restrictions, allowing restaurants, bars and entertainment venues to go back to their normal operating hours – no more midnight closure order – and lifting the late-night alcohol ban. While bars can now stay open late and serve alcohol after midnight, dancing is prohibited and venues cannot…
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2 shot dead at Phuket Bus Terminal Saturday night
Police say 2 men were gunned down at the Phuket Bus Terminal by a colleague at the terminal along the stretch of Thepkasattri road heading into Phuket Town last night. The incident happened at about 10:15pm with the local police chief arriving along with medical staff from Vachira Hospital shortly after the incident. 60 year old Wian Iadchuthong, the alleged…
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Phuket lifts mandatory quarantine restrictions for ‘high risk’ arrivals. But were they ever applied?
Culminating 2 weeks of mass confusion over the apparent mandatory self-quarantine for arrivals to Phuket from Bangkok and other high risk provinces, Phuket’s provincial communicable disease committee has agreed to lift the mandatory 14 day quarantine “to help boost the local economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic”. But for the vast majority of arrivals from Bangkok (DMK and BKK) to…
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Phuket wants Bangkok arrivals to skip quarantine to help tourism revenue
Phuket’s tourism representatives are calling for an end to the mandatory quarantine levied at tourists arriving to the province from Bangkok. The tourism delegation have also told Phuket’s provincial government to be prepared to start receiving international tourists starting in October. According to The Phuket News, such a plan would include a requirement for all international travellers to Thailand to…
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Patong, Phuket Town, Chalong to fund residents’ vaccination
Patong and Phuket Town are planning to fund registered residents’ Covid-19 vaccines, Thai and foreign, with the hope to speed up the inoculation process without waiting for the national government. The mayors of both cities say they have already allocated the funds to move forward with purchasing the vaccines after the government approves which ones may be used. Like any…
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Phuket police confirm speed limit of bypass road after locals complain
Phuket police are confirming the island’s bypass road speed limit as 50 kilometres per hour. That is, despite years of back and forth between motorists and the law. The latest announcement comes after locals posted online copies of their speeding tickets, which showed the confirmed limit. The stretch of road, almost the only stretch of road where you could get…
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Visitors to Phuket from “highest risk” areas must show Covid-19 test results
People arriving Phuket from the “highest risk” areas are required to take a swab test by the staff at emergency operation centres (EOC) or show the test result document endorsed by the EOC staff made within 72 hours of their arrival. The revised order is effective from now until January 31, according to the Phuket Governor. Those people who are…
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Police say Phuket school won’t be charged for employing foreign teachers without a work permit
An international school in Phuket is not facing charges for employing foreign teachers without a work permit, police told the Phuket News. Back in November, 2 British nationals were arrested at the Palm House International School in Rawai in a raid by Phuket Immigration officers, acting on a tip that teachers were working at the school without a work permit.…
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Phuket health chief urges “red zone” travellers to abide by quarantine measures
With Phuket’s new disease control measures requiring those travelling from high risk areas to quarantine, the province’s public health chief is now saying those at alternative state quarantine hotels won’t be locked up in their rooms throughout their 14 day stay in isolation. He says guests can wander through certain areas of the hotel to have meals and do other…
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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