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 5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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KLM to increase flights to Middle-East, Asia as border restrictions ease
The Dutch carrier KLM plans to increase its flights to Asian and Middle-Eastern destinations as countries plan for a re-opening of their borders. According to TTR Weekly, the airline’s summer network is almost the same as in 2019, but with a reduction in the number of flights on offer as a result of the pandemic. The airline plans to introduce…
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Officials predict 600,000 tourists to Phuket following reopening
Despite recent predictions lowering expectations to between 9,000 and 10,000 international arrivals in July, and about 7,000 tickets booked in the latest available statistics, officials announced they expect more than 600,000 tourists to arrive between July and September after the reopening of Phuket. The ambitious prediction comes with an expectation of about 15 billion baht in revenue for the financially…
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Technician electrocuted to death while trying to fix jacuzzi
On Saturday, a man was electrocuted while repairing a jacuzzi. The shocking incident happened in the Cherng Talay area of Phuket. Police and rescue workers were called around 6:50 pm last night to find 45 year old Surapol Samthong’s body next to the jacuzzi. Rescue workers were able to safely remove Suapol’s body from the scene. His body was then…
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Reopening guidelines for Phuket and Samui
In a press release, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently sought to lay out and clarify guidelines for how Thailand’s reopening will begin. The Phuket Sandbox plan rolls out first on July 1 (awaiting final approval), followed by a proposal for Surat Thani province reopening Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao on a sealed route July 15. Here’s the…
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Refinements to the Sandbox as the countdown continues to Thailand’s reopening
Nearing the 10 day countdown to the Phuket sandbox and it couldn’t be a more important milestone for Thailand’s battered tourist industry. The official re-opening to world travellers and tourists to the tropical island in southern Thailand is a vital pilot program for the rest of the country. This week the PM proclaimed that all of Thailand will be open…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 3,682 new infections and 20 covid-related deaths
Today the public health department have announced 3,682 new infections of Covid-19 and 20 new deaths. 578 of today’s announced infections are from the Thai prison system. Today’s figures continue a slow rise in the daily case numbers over this week. Notably, the worst outbreaks are still occurring around Bangkok and its adjacent suburbs. Also, the southern provinces are also…
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Talad Kaset market in Phuket reopens
The Talad Kaset market in Phuket reopened today. The staff of Phuket City Municipality/vendors gave the market a rigorous cleaning to bolster local’s confidence. The market had shut down 2 weeks prior after an 86 year old woman’s death was connected to the market. 2 day ago, Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, reassured the…
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Over 300 Phuket businesses awarded SHA Plus accreditation ahead of re-opening
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has declared the southern island of Phuket as “sandbox-ready”, after awarding SHA Plus accreditation to more than 300 tourism businesses. Phuket is gearing up for a much-anticipated re-opening on July 1, although it must be pointed out that this is still subject to official approval. The SHA endorsement confirms that hotels and other tourism businesses…
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Expats in Phuket without a work permit can register for a Covid-19 vaccine
Expats living in Phuket, who do not have a work permit, can now register for a Covid-19 vaccine. Under the local vaccine registration website, www.phuket.win, there are now links for foreigners with work permits and foreigners without work permits to apply for a vaccine. Of course, with the ever-faulty websites run by the Thai government, we had to give it…
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Tar balls wash ashore on several Phuket beaches
An oil spill that hit the north end of Phuket on Sunday has now stretched the entire length of the island as tar balls have washed up on the southernmost beach in Phuket as well. No source of the oil has been identified yet. Tar balls first washed up a few days ago on Mai Khao Beach, a stretch of…
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Electricty outages in Phuket today
Electricity will briefly be shut off in the Heroines Monument area of Phuket today. The Provincial Electricity Authority will be installing high voltage cables. According to Thai media, the power outage will last from 9 am today to 4:30 pm. It will be near Thepkrasattri Rd and will extend from the Thalang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority to the…
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Officials tinker with definition of “population”, “find” over 70% of Phuket is vaccinated
The population of Phuket has been “adjusted” by officials. They now state the island is 74% vaccinated. That is, they claim 74% have received at least 1 of the 2 necessary inoculations. This news comes from a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department. It was posted earlier today. The report states that the Phuket Governor, Pichet…
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TAT asked to make changes to Phuket sandbox before submitting for final approval
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been asked to make further changes to the Phuket “sandbox” scheme before submitting it to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Apisamai Srirangson from the CCSA says the government’s Covid-19 task force wants clarification on the safety measures aimed at controlling Covid-19 when the plan is implemented from July 1. “The sub-committee is concerned…
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Thai police chief donates 100,000 baht to Phuket man shot by a drunk officer
Thailand’s national police chief has donated 100,000 baht to support the man in Phuket who was shot and critically wounded by a drunk, off-duty police officer on the island’s Bangla Road, a popular nightlife area in Patong. Aroon Thongplad, a noodle vendor at the Phuket walking street, was grabbing a bowl from a customer when he was shot in the…
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Renowned Thai doctor cautions against letting tourists avoid 14 day quarantine
Yesterday, a renowned Thai doctor, told media that he and his colleagues strongly opposed any program designed to admit foreign tourists, even the vaccinated, if the tourists aren’t required to do a strict 14 day quarantine. Further, Dr Prasit thinks that the quarantine should be even longer, depending on the variant. The doctor, and Dean of Faculty of Medicine at…
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Location-tracking wristbands and punishments for escapees: Phuket gets ready to welcome vaccinated tourists
As the date of Phuket’s re-opening to vaccinated foreign tourists draws closer, officials are busy preparing all necessary measures prior to the influx. The “sandbox” scheme kicks off on July 1 and provincial officials have been rehearsing immigration and Covid-19 control measures at Phuket airport, the island’s ports, and the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint by the bridge onto the island.…
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Ambulance crashes into a lightpole in Phuket
Early this morning, an ambulance crashed into a light pole and then a tree. The ambulance driver and two nurses sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was not carrying a patient at the time. The Phuket city police were called and they arrived at the scene around 1:30 am. Police and rescue workers (that weren’t in the ambulance) got to the…
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300 tourism businesses given SHA Plus certification in Phuket
Part of the much-debated Phuket Sandbox reopening is guests must stay in SHA Plus-certified hotels, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand just gave certification for more than 300 tourism-related businesses on the island. The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration Plus Certificate was presented to the businesses yesterday, and those establishments will now display the SHA Plus logo, assuring international…
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TAT declares Phuket “is ready” to reopen for tourism on July 1
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn attended a meeting with Phuket officials yesterday following months of vacillation by local tourism officials and central government departments. The tug-of-war between public health imperatives and Thailand’s battered tourist industry has caused a constant barrage of changes to announced details. “There will be no quarantine for foreign visitors under the Phuket Sandbox scheme…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,804 new infections and 18 Covid-related deaths
The Thai public health department has announced another 18 Covid-related deaths and 2,804 new infections. 409 of today’s cases come from the prison system. The numbers coming out of the public health department, and announced each morning at around 11.30am by a CCSA spokesperson, have been statistically similar for the past 2 months, with the exception of the cases coming…
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UPDATE: Tourism Minister reportedly says July 1 ‘sandbox’ won’t happen
UPDATE By the conclusion of a meeting in Phuket this afternoon the only confirmation was that the July 1 date for a re-opening of Thailand, via the Phuket sandbox was “still on”, according to Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com who attended the meeting. More details when they emerge. Bottomline, nothing is confirmed until the Thai Cabinet discusses the issue, probably Tuesday,…
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Best-case for Phuket’s Sandbox: up to 1.2 million tourists, Kasikorn predicts
Up to 1.2 million foreign tourists could travel to Thailand through Phuket’s “Sandbox” travel scheme. That’s the best-case scenario, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. They estimate that the scheme, which is planned to allow vaccinated tourists to enter the country and stay on the island without going through quarantine, could draw in 550,000 people to 1.2 million from July…
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Former prosecutors face corruption charges in Phuket land encroachment case
2 former public prosecutors in Phuket face charges of corruption after allegedly seeking a bribe from a company accused of land encroachment in a national park. The Office of the Attorney-General confirms that Thamma Sornchai and Wanchat Choonhathanom are being indicted on bribery charges. According to a Bangkok Post report, Thamma is accused of asking a foreign-run company for a…
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Bangkok man arrested for allegedly selling sex toys
A seller in Bangkok has been arrested for allegedly possessing illegal sex toys for sale. Thaweesak a 28 year old Bangkok seller was arrested today after police received a tip that he had sex toys in his possession. After obtaining a search warrant from Phra Khanong Criminal Court, detectives staged a raid on the suspect’s house and seized 169 items.…
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Phuket bars to stay closed for July 1 sandbox
Bars, pubs, and other “entertainment venues” throughout Phuket will remain closed when the province opens for its July 1 reopening, Patong Mayor Chalermsak Maneesri said today. Chalermsak says the entertainment venues will remain closed as a meeting with Phuket officials cited a covid cluster from such an establishment. He further told Thai media today that the Phuket Governor and the TAT…
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Police crack down on drugs in Phuket neighbourhoods
In an ongoing effort to crack down on drugs in Phuket neighbourhoods, police conducted a series of raids where they seized dozens of grams of crystal methamphetamine and thousands of methamphetamine pills as well as dozens of rounds of firearm ammunition. Phuket Provincial Police also recently arrested 5 people in the various raids. Provincial police captain Chaiwat Chuwang has been…
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Phuket governor asks for funds for tourist tracking app
We’re not sure of the exact date when the Phuket sandbox idea was born, but we’re pretty sure the Thaiger had fewer grey hairs and definitely fewer wrinkles back then. What’s certain is that there has been a lot – a lot – of talk about Phuket’s July 1 re-opening and how exactly it will work. Rules have been introduced,…
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Local carriers lack confidence in sandbox scheme, hold off resuming Phuket flights
Local airlines are in no rush to be part of Phuket’s much-anticipated July 1 re-opening, due to uncertain demand and the strict rules governing the sandbox model. Tassapon Bijleveld from Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder in Thai AirAsia, says strict domestic travel restrictions implemented on red zone provinces as a result of the third wave, have led to plummeting load…
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As the clock ticks down, Phuket’s sandbox plan moves a step closer to approval
The Thai PM says the cabinet has agreed in principle to the Phuket sandbox scheme, which will see the southern island re-open to vaccinated tourists from July 1. Quarantine will be waived for fully vaccinated international arrivals from a yet-to-be-determined list of “safe” countries. However, they will have to spend 14 days on the island before being allowed to travel…
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Phuket officals quiet on foreigners being able to register for Covid vaccine
Phuket officials are keeping quiet on foreigners being able to register for the Covid-19 vaccine. 2 weeks prior the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that foreigners could register for a Covid-19 vaccine. Earlier, Thaiger wrote that many (nationality not specified) who registered for a vaccine had their registration mysteriously canceled. The “Phuket Must Win” portal has a “Vaccinations for…
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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