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 This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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White caps & tight racing – Day two of the Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Yacht Club The racing multihull boats sailed two races on Sunday – the second day of racing in the annual Multihull Solutions Regatta off Chalong Bay in Phuket. The first race was a three-lap windward-leeward in Chalong Bay and the second a longer course out to the safe water mark just before Cape Panwa. Whitecaps and winds gusting to…
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Thai TV star faces legal battle to regain custody of her daughter after daylight abduction in Phuket
PHOTO: says.com A baby has been abducted in Phuket as Thai police investigate a complaint filed by her mother. Last Friday, police were seeking to interview the father and husband of the UK Thai former ‘supermodel’. It follows a dramatic midday abduction on the outskirts of Phuket where the 25 year old woman was ‘imprisoned in her car’ as a…
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Phuket accommodation pipeline – 55 new hotels under development
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com PHOTO: Horizon Beach Resort Hotels Phuket One of Asia’s leading resort destinations Phuket looks set to weather a perfect storm as soaring hotel supply is forecast to be challenged by declining tourism demand. New research from consulting group C9 Hotelworks in their Phuket Hotel Market Update Mid-Year Edition has revealed an island development pipeline of…
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Thailand’s tourism – stormy weather ahead
Thailands tourism industry finds itself in stormy weather as a falloff in visitors spook trade, even forcing candid admissions from some of Thailand’s tourism chiefs. Thailand has suffered a slump in tourism figures since the beginning of the year as hoteliers and tourism trade leaders have confirmed a huge 20 to 30% drop for June in tourist numbers and trade…
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Entertainment venues in Phuket call for postponement in new excise tax
Entertainment venue operators in Patong, Phuket, are calling on the Excise Department to indefinitely postpone a proposed 11% levy on their businesses, saying the tourism business is bad enough already without any additional government tax grabs. Entertainment and other businesses on the island have been reporting anecdotal drops in their business between 20-50% this low-season, compared to last year. The…
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A major lawsuit has been filed by owners of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
A letter filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday. A major spat between the owners of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa in Mai Khao and the parent management company Marriott International, Inc… Minor International Public Company Limited (“MINT”) announces that it has, through its 100% subsidiary MI Squared Limited, initiated legal action in Thailand against Marriott…
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Perth ‘pad thai’ couple “maybe it was the juice”
PHOTO: Facebook/Stacey Barnes Ryan Prigg, one of the Aussie couple from Perth, Australia, spoke exclusively to ThaiVisa over the much-hyped story that a pad thai they ate at an ‘upmarket Phuket food court’ gave them a disease that took them nearly two years to shake. Here’s part of they response to ThaiVisa… “We weren’t sick when we left Australia. On the…
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Thailand’s Health Ministry doubts Aussie couple’s claim about parasite in Pad Thai
Thai PBS reports that Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health says “there is a very slim chance that a person could contract Dientamoeba Fragilis”, a dangerous parasite, from eating a plate of Pad Thai, as claimed by an Australian Perth couple. Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg, along with their two children, visited Thailand in 2017. Read they stay HERE. Doctors in…
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An anonymous ‘Farang’ body found off Karon Beach Yesterday
PHOTO: Newshawk Phuket An anonymous ‘Farang’ body found was found floating off Karon Beach yesterday (Wednesday). Karon police received a report about the dead body floating in the sea, about 500 metres from the Karon Beach just after 6pm. The body was a male, appeared to be a westerner but without any documentation or ID to indicate who he is…
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Phuket’s looming high season water crisis
PHOTOS: Siraphat Kanphonngam Water shortages are almost a certainty for Phuket in the next high season with the rainfall for this year’s wet season well below average. The island’s three main catchments – Bang Neow Dam off Srisoonthorn Road, Bang Wad dam in Kathu and Khlong Kratha dam in Chalong – have all increased in their water levels since the dams dropped to…
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Police raid Phang Nga drug dealer with more than 100,000 meth pills
Police conduced a drug bust in Phang Nga and seized more than a 100,000 methamphetamine pills, considered a large amount from a southern local drug dealer. Yesterday (July 9), Phang Nga police arrested 28 year old Kittisak Chuanchom, a cable line technician, while he was preparing to distribute amphetamine pills to his ‘customers’. Police found him at a house in…
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Thai health authorities investigate Australian couples’ claim of illness after eating pad thai in Phuket
The Thai Disease Control Department says they’re investigation claims by a Perth couple that they went through “two years of hell” after eating a plate of Pad Thai while visiting Phuket on holiday in 2017. Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg from Perth, along with their two children, visited Thailand in 2017. Once back in Perth they both began to feel…
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Dolphin sightings in Phang Nga Bay near Phuket – VIDEO
Rangers working in the Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park have reported sightings of bottlenose dolphins in Phang Nga Bay. They say it’s a good sign, thanks to the extensive rehabilitation of aquatic animals, seagrass and natural vegetation in the area. The rangers managed to take a picture of a 150 centimetre-long dolphin in front of Koh Panyi, Amphur Muang…
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Four down, one to go – Phuket’s traffic underpass network nearly complete
The 540 million baht underground tunnel at Chalong Circle has now been officially opened by the Thai PM. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the official opening yesterday morning. The tunnel, about 350 metres long, travels between Viset Road and Chao Fah West. Above ground the intersection moves traffic around the renovated roundabout where traffic from Kata (Patak Road), Chalong Pier…
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PM opens Chalong Underpass, visits Yamil and Navy Area 3, Phuket
The Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, arrived at the PPAO Muang Phuket School in Rawai this morning to conduct the official opening of the Chalong Underpass, after 4 years of prolonged construction. Phuket officials the Rawai Mayor, Aroon Solos and Chalong Mayor, Samran Jindapon, welcomed Gen Prayuth who was accompanied by the PM Office team from Bangkok. https://www.facebook.com/prd5surat/videos/918746461798027/ Locals from Chalong…
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Indian tourists filling the gap as Chinese eschew Thailand
PHOTO: The Vijitt Resort, Rawai, Phuket Thailand’s currently patchy tourism industry, down but not out, is getting some interim support from visitors from the population colossus to its west, India. The new arrivals are filling in the gap, not quite a gaping hole as yet, of bumper arrivals from China. At a beachfront hotel on Phuket’s south west coast, the occupancy…
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Thai PM visits Phuket today – this is what he’s doing
The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is in Phuket today. His main task is to officiate over the official opening of the Chalong Underpass. Then he’s off to Cape Panwa for the rest of the busy schedule… 8.40am Arrive at Phuket International Airport. Welcome by a formal reception. 9:15am PM travels to Chalong Underpass receptions area. 10am Official opening ceremony for…
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Opinion: Who’s responsible for the sinking of ‘Phoenix’?
A year later, this hastily penned opinion piece still asks questions that remain mostly unanswered… Who’s responsible for the ‘Phoenix’ boat disaster, the worst maritime disaster in Thailand since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004? Whilst events of the fateful evening on July 5 remain under investigation, awaiting a full court hearing down the track, there are some things which…
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Dugongs ‘live’ from today starring Miriam and Yamil
PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง Be your own director, choose the camera and follow your baby dugongs live. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and TOT are running live trials for a livestream of the care facilities where the two young dugongs ‘Mariam’ and ‘Yamil’ are now living, one in Trang and one in Phuket. The DMCR and TOT intend to provide…
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Thailand’s Princess Sirivannavari names Krabi’s baby dugong ‘Yamil’
Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari has proposed the name ‘Yamil’ for the orphaned baby dugong found stranded in Krabi on July 1. The animal was rescued by villagers and sent for treatment and rehabilitation by marine veterinarians in Phuket. Read about the baby dugong being found HERE. Netizens were invited to name the orphaned baby dugong by officials yesterday. Many…
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Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket
PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…
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British tourist drowns at Phuket’s Surin Beach, son in hospital
A British tourist, from Hong Kong, has drowned at Surin beach in Phuket yesterday but his son was saved thanks to the quick actions of a local beachgoer. Choeng Thalay police were alerted at 3pm that a foreign tourist had drowned and another was injured. When police arrived 24 year old Wan Chun Tat had already been rushed to the…
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Former OrBorTor President in Phang Nga, and accused pedophile, flees
The former OrBorTor President in Tung Maprao, Tai Muang district in Phang Nga, Suppasak ‘Sak’ Pokaboot, has reportedly fled from his house after having resigned from his position following grave allegations of pedophilia and incriminating video evidence this week. The police went to speak to Suppasak this morning and found that the house was locked. There were a few workers outside…
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Phang Nga OrBorTor President forced to resign over pedophilia
PHOTOS: social.tvpoolonline.com An OrBorTor President in Tai Muang District, Phang Nga has been forced to resign from his duties after a video clearly showing him sexually abusing a twelve years old girl went viral over the Internet last week (June 26). Government officials went to visit the girl in the video and found that she lives with her 54 year…
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Thai PM heading to Phuket to officially open the Chalong Underpass
PHOTO: Guy (Charlie) LIDUREAU The Thai PM is heading to Phuket to officiate at the opening of the long-awaited Chalong Underpass next week, as well as attend some other meetings during the day. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will open the Chalong Underpass on Monday, July 8. Both lanes of the new underpass will be closed during the ceremony from 7-10am. The construction…
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Phuket’s tourist evolution – Diversity is the best option Part 1
by Guest Writer Today’s guest writer has been managing resorts around Phuket for two decades and has represented his brand at international expos along with promotions for Phuket over the years. His knowledge is first-hand and steeped in local experience. He has asked to remain anonymous. At the end of the 1990’s into the early 2000’s Phuket saw the drastic…
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Phuket’s tourist evolution – Diversity is the best option Part 2
by Guest Writer Our guest writer has been managing resorts around Phuket for two decades and has represented his brand at international expos along with promotions for Phuket over the years. His knowledge is first-hand and steeped in local experience. He has asked to remain anonymous. Read Part 1 of the report HERE. In Part 1 of the article we…
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Thai PM to visit Phuket for the opening of the Chalong Underpass
PHOTO: Happy memories for residents in the south of Phuket during the construction phase of the underpass. During this period the Chalong Circle was nicknamed by locals as the Chalong Car Park. The Thai PM is heading to Phuket to officiate at the opening of the long-awaited Chalong Underpass, as well as attend some other meetings during the day. PM…
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Electricity mains upgraded in Pa Klok, Phuket
Phuket’s Provincial Electricity Authority is warning residents that their electricity supply will be disrupted in parts of Pa Klok tomorrow (June 28) as they carry out work installing new high-voltage cables. The Thalang Branch of the PEA say the affected areas will be from to Ban Bang Rong Mosque to the Weerasatri Anusorn School on Soi Thala and areas nearby…
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Progress on Phang Nga’s new international airport
by Bill Barnett, c9hotelworks The AoT (Airports of Thailand) planned international airport in Phang Nga, set to be part of a triangle of international airports serving the Phuket, Phang Nga, Khao Lak and Krabi tourist zones, is poised to move past another development milestone. The mooted private airport has now been binned and the AoT-operated airport project is now forging…
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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