Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Pet wildcat lost in Phuket, Russian family offers 50,000 baht reward
Be on the lookout for an African wildcat in Phuket. A Russian family’s pet serval cat “Julie” is missing and they’re offering a 50,000 baht reward to anyone with information that leads to the cat’s return. The cat is large with markings that resemble a cheetah. Julie was last seen in the Surin Beach area. The cat’s owner, Aliona Lissone,…
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The 2020 Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon has been run and won, despite all the challenges
Signs of life, combined with a determined event organiser and keen participants. And so the Laguna Phuket Marathon was staged in Phuket this weekend, despite all the challenges. An 8,000 strong field turned out to Run Paradise in Phuket this weekend at the 15th Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon. Held on December 5 and 6, the ‘new normal’ edition combined stringent…
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What has the pandemic taught hotels about luxury. Is ‘less’ more?
by Anthony Lark “Let’s say goodbye to all that stale pretence and manufactured pomp” Until the collective nightmare that was 2020, many of the so-called high-end hotels had a reputation for trying to convince guests to pay for often dingy guestrooms lacking any real views inside an otherwise ornate structure with a storied, celebrated past, where the first impression was…
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Thai Airways to resume flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Phuket
After nearly 9 months on the ground due to the coronavirus pandemic, along with problems balancing their accounts, Thai Airways will resume flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well as Bangkok and Phuket later this month. The flights will start back up on Christmas day. Flights from Bangkok to the 2 key tourist provinces have been grounded since April…
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Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce to propose Guangzhou-Phuket tourism route
A tourism route from Guangzhou, China to Phuket could help the island province recover from the recession brought on by the pandemic and lack of foreign travel, according to the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The president of the organisation, Narongsak Puttapornmongkol, says they plan to submit a letter proposing the route under a travel bubble scheme to the Centre for…
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Re-opening Thailand to tourism will be vaccine dependent
Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com continues to follow the difficult journey of the Thai hospitality industry. Traditionally, now would be the start of the country’s highly profitable high season for the tourism industry. But not this year. Thai hotels find themselves in the middle of an existential crisis – either still closed, only partly open, or one of the few converted…
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Phuket workshop helps residents cope with high stress brought on by the economic crisis
Hundreds of residents in Phuket’s Wichit subdistrict attended a workshop focused on reducing stress from to the pandemic-induced economic crisis. A psychologist was even on site to help those who had extreme mental stress and a Buddhist monk taught meditation techniques to reduce physiological effects of stress. The event was planned in response to an online survey conducted by the…
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Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation opens Humane Education Centre at Mai Khao shelter
The Soi Dog Foundation has officially opened its Humane Education Centre, the first of its kind in Thailand dedicated to the welfare of stray animals.  The centre, located at the Soi Dog shelter in northern Phuket, forms part of the foundation’s Humane Education program. Rolled out in 2017, the program sees a team visit Thai schools to teach the next…
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How Thailand’s domestic tourism market fell in love with Khao Lak during a pandemic
While Thailand’s doors remain mostly shut to international tourists, Thailand’s domestic travel wanderlust has turned Khao Lak into an Instagram hero. In the first 2 months of this year, according to research by consulting group C9 Hotelworks’ new Khao Lak Hotel Market Update occupancies soared above 80%. With the Covid-19 lockdowns, occupancy plunged in April and May, but as domestic…
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Phuket sees 300 million baht boost over long holiday weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that Phuket has received a much-needed 300 million baht boost over the 4 day long weekend with around 54,000 tourists flocking to the island from last Thursday through to yesterday. Phuket Office Director Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, reports that the average expenditure per visitor was about 5,500 baht, which was higher than the average spend for…
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Covid tourism standstill gives Thailand’s southern sea gypsies a break
Phuket’s sea gypsy communities are getting a much needed break after the Covid tourism standstill have their traditions a break from the tourism onslaught. 42 year old Sanan Changham says now there is an abundance of fish and shellfish to eat. Tourist boats have been docked at the quay, making fishing easier for the Chao Lay, or “people of the…
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Academics call on government to hurry up and help the tourism industry
Leading Thai academics are calling on the government to get a move on and help the tourism industry before it’s too late. Addressing a gathering arranged by the Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion, Kiriya Kulkolkran from Thammasat University’s Faculty of Economics, pointed to the 80% drop in international tourism as a result of the Covid-19 fallout. His estimate includes…
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Tsunami warning buoys to be installed, replacing Thailand’s out-of-action buoys
Tsunami warning buoys will be re-installed after one buoy got loose and floated off and the other appeared to have been scavenged for parts. The buoys transmit real-time data, allowing officials to detect underwater earthquakes. 30 experts from Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation departed from the Phuket Deep Sea Port to install the buoys. First, they will replace…
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Qatar Airways set to return to Phuket
Qatar Airways is set to return to Phuket by offering limited flights after the coronavirus pandemic halted services to the resort island. in March this year The middle eastern airline says it is planning a weekly flight between Doha and Phuket from December 4 and is seeking permission from Thai authorities to increase the number of flights between the 2…
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Expat awaits trial for drug charges, mother in England worries and works to pay the bills
While 27 year old expat Louis Bentley awaits trial in Thailand for drug charges, his mother back in England is working 12 hour shifts to pay her son’s bills. For his mother, Michaela, the anticipation of waiting for the her son’s February court date, in a country so far from her with laws she’s unfamiliar with, has been “horrendous.” Louis…
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Qatar Airways to offer biweekly flights from Phuket to Doha
Things are starting to take off at the Phuket International Airport. Qatar Airways will resume bi-weekly flights from Phuket to Doha starting on December 4. The move is a major step forward after a halt of international travel to the island due to Covid-19 lockdown measures. Last week, an empty Emirates Airlines flight landed in Phuket. Although it wasn’t carrying…
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5 injured after engine explodes on Phang Nga speedboat
5 people have been injured, 3 seriously, after a moored speedboat caught fire in Phang Nga province yesterday. The incident happened around 8.30am. The boat was tied up to the Thap Lamu boat pier, where most Similan Island-bound private tour boats depart from and return to. The injured were all crew from the boat. According to witnesses, the captain started…
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Government pledges help for Phuket tourism industry
As Phuket’s tourism industry continues to fight for survival amid ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the PM is ordering an advisory team to finish work on recovery proposals received from the private sector and submit them to the government’s Covid-19 task force for approval. Danucha Pichayanan, from the National Economic and Social Development Council, says this is expected to happen shortly, as…
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CCSA update: 1 local Covid case detected in Krabi, another case in ASQ in Phuket
A 38 year old Dutch man has tested positive for Covid-19 in Phuket. Â The man was staying at an Alternative State Quarantine venue in Phuket. And an Indian restaurant worker in Krabi has also tested positive, this time a case of apparent local transmission. 10 other positive cases were detected today, including 8 people in quarantine and 2 Burmese truck…
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Phuket & Koh Samui face financial ruin in the short to medium term – VIDEO
Phuket and Samui are both islands, fed mostly by arrivals at their international airports. Of course, both remain closed and the islands are trying to survive on a dribble of domestic tourists. And there’s no sign of hope any time soon for the future. Bill Barnett is ‘Mr Hotel & Hospitality’ for Thailand and the region. What does he see…
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Phuket police investigate alleged teacher abuse
Police are investigating a teacher at a central Phuket school after a complaint was filed accusing the teacher of kicking a pre-school student in the face. The Pavena Foundation for Children and Women reported the incident to the Wichit Police. The 5 year old student’s grandmother initially reported the alleged abuse to the foundation. In an interview with police, the grandmother…
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Foreign minister meets with Phuket-based diplomats to discuss the island’s future
The Thai Foreign Minister and Deputy PM, Don Pramudwinai, has met with a group of European and Asian diplomats based in Phuket to discuss the future of the southern island province. Attendees came together to talk about economic stimulus measures that could help Phuket, which has been hit hard by Covid-19 travel restrictions and the closure of Thailand’s borders. According…
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What is the future of Phuket and Samui? VIDEO
Let’s review the last 2 days when the Thai PM and the cabinet cavalcade headed to the southern islands of Phuket and Samui. Did their visit come up with any solutions that could help the islands and their economic crisis? Please watch the video and subscribe to our YouTube Thaiger channel. Thailand’s PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha has just spent the last…
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PM calls for long-term plans to revitalise Phuket and Koh Samui
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is calling for long-term plans to rehabilitate Thailand’s tourist destinations following his visit to Koh Samui and Phuket where he saw first hand how the Covid-19 pandemic affected both islands. Prayut says conditions at Phuket are much more drastic as the province heavily relies on international travel. The prime minister says Phuket generates the second-highest income from…
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Phuket is “100% ready” for Special Tourist Visa flights – Transport Minister
The Phuket International Airport is ready for international tourists. The airport has been preparing for weeks and initially expected a group foreigners on the new Special Tourist Visa to arrive last month. Covid-19 mobile testing vehicles were even sent to the airport in early October, prepared to test all the tourists upon arrival, but the travel plans were cancelled last…
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Minister declares Phuket Airport ready to welcome STV arrivals
The Thai Transport Minister has declared Phuket International Airport ready to welcome tourists arriving under the recently-launched Special Tourist Visa scheme. A similar announcement was also made in the days before the much-discussed October 8 STV tourists who never arrived. Now we wait again… Peppering all these apparent preparations is a visit from the PM and cabinet officials to Phuket.…
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Answering the question, who will fight for Phuket’?Â
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Thailand’s tourism industry is sadly at the short end of the stick as policies gyrate over the reopening of the country to international travellers, yet no single province has more to lose than the resort island of Phuket. Phuket’s economic engine is leveraged on tourism. It’s a place where on a combined basis, one…
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Happy Loy Krathong Phuket. Where to launch your krathong tonight
Happy Loy Krathong Phuket. But this year authorities are saying ‘only floating Krathongs thanks’. No polystyrene, no steel pins – keep it natural and plant-based please. This year Loy Krathong in Thailand co-incides with the annual Halloween celebrations on October 31. Authorities are also urging people to choose, or make, their krathongs using natural materials only. The latest craze for…
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Man arrested after allegedly slicing a man’s face with sickle
A man was arrested on charges of grievous bodily harm after he allegedly sliced his friend’s face with a sickle, causing a gash about 25 centimetres long. 3 men, identified as Saeng, Ta and Rop, had been drinking at a shanty in Phuket’s Rassada district where Rop lived. An argument broke out over money. A bank transfer was apparently made,…
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PM to visit Phuket on Monday as island’s economy lies in tatters
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is to arrive in Phuket on Monday, where he will meet with local business leaders and discuss proposals for reviving the southern island’s devastated tourism sector. It’s understood a representative of Phuket’s Old Town area is to put forward an idea for promoting the historic centre as a tourist destination. Since borders were closed in late March,…
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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