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 Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Patong entertainment businesses say longer hours is the solution to corruption issue
The Patong Entertainment Business Association has weighed into the Patong Bribery scandal insisting that the the issue will never be solved unless the laws are changed – specifically the laws that will allow them to stay open longer. The President of Patong Entertainment Business Association, Weerawit Kruasombat, says that the law should be changed and the entertainment venues should be…
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THAIGER TODAY – Friday, November 24
Phetchaburi inundated | PM defends his Deputy’s comments about dead cadet | Seven youth arrested over drugs bust in Paklok | Airport getting ready for high-season influx | Navy FC Chairman threatens the players in the alleged match-fixing scandal.
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THAIGER TODAY – Thursday, November 23
National taxi crackdown… again | Four confess to football match-fixing | Phang Nga woman arrested over Erawan Shrine bombing | US says Rohingya crisis IS ‘ethnic cleansing’ | Bruno Mars coming to BKK.
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Domestic terminal opens another section for the high season
Phuket International Airport will open the domestic terminal on the north side of the old terminal to welcome travellers during Phuket’s tourism high season starting November 28. The south section, which is currently used as the domestic terminal, will be closed down for renovation. The opening will offer more convenience to the passengers, both departures and arrivals, with a wider…
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Friday Morning Briefing – everything you need to know in 3 minutes
KL is the big winner in a survey for expat living. Story below… “We only want men who are willing” PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has come to the defence of his Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon over his provocative remarks concerning the suspicious death of a military pre-cadet. General Prawit responded to a media question over the matter, that it was…
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Phang Nga mother in court as suspected accomplice in Erawan Shrine bombing
Wanna Suansan, accused of facilitating the 2015 Erawan Shrine bombing, appeared in Bangkok Military Court on Thursday morning to apply for her first 12-day detention period. She is one of 17 suspects in the bomb attack that killed 20 people and wounded 163 others. Wanna, 29, was taken into police custody at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Wednesday evening as she…
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Thursday Morning Briefing – everything you need to know in 3 minutes
The Thai woman implicated in the deadly Erawan Shrine bomb attack is now in Thai police custody. Phang Nga resident, Wanna Suansan was arrested when she walked off a plane at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday. She was taken to the National Police Office headquarters where she was interrogated. Wanna is among suspects wanted over the fatal explosion that rocked the Erawan…
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Thailand hosts ASEAN Environment Conference in Phuket
The Reducing Marine Debris in ASEAN Region 2017 hosted by Thailand is being held at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa today (November 22). The meeting gathers the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Kasetsart University and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with about 200 participants from many sectors in order to find solutions to reduce marine…
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Boat explosion at Chalong Pier
An explosion on a speed boat called ‘Choksomboon’ at Chalong Pier has injured two boat staff while the bottom of the boat has also been damaged. At about 4 pm yesterday (November 21), Chalong police got a report about an explosion and blaze near Chalong Pier. At the scene police found a 2 outboard engine speedboat docked at the port…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, November 22
Big rains in Hua Hin | Horrible crash in Thalang overnight | Football game-fixing exposed | Huge methamphetamine pill haul in Samut Prakhan | 5 of the 20 escapees caught in Songkhla.
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Wednesday Morning Briefing – everything you need to know in 3 minutes
How many methamphetamine tablets!? PHOTO: The Nation The Kathu Police Station Superintendent is heading to Patong to be the acting Patong Police Station Superintendent. This follows the transfer of several officers over the ongoing bribe scandal including former Patong Superintendent, Pol. Col. Tassanai Oladirek. Pol. Col. M.L. Pattanachak Chakrabhan will move from Kathu Police Station to be acting Patong Police…
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Kathu Police Chief to move in as Acting-Chief of Patong Police
Today (November 21), Phuket Provincial Police Commander, Pol. Maj. Gen. Teerapol Thipcharoen, signed the approval for the Kathu Police Station Superintendent to be acting Patong Police Station Superintendent. This follows the transfer of several officers over the ongoing bribe scandal including former Patong Superintendent, Pol. Col. Tassanai Oladirek. Pol. Col. M.L. Pattanachak Chakrabhan will move from Kathu Police Station to…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, November 21
Stabbings in Thalang and Phuket Town | US 7th Fleet Admiral and Thai PM attend Sail Past in Pattaya | 20 escape from Songkhla detention | ‘Spotlight Phuket’ dumps the dirt on Patong corruption | MRT Blue Line in BKK ditches passenger seats.
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Phang Nga sets example for managing plastic waste
Ao Phang Nga National Park will be cited at a regional meeting this week as an example of Pracha Rath (public-private partnerships in development) being put to use in managing seaborne plastic waste. The success that officials and residents have enjoyed in curbing waste in the waters of the Phang Nga park will be outlined at the ASEAN and China…
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Widespread graft exposed in Phuket police case
In the wake of the corruption investigation focusing on Phuket police, academics and stakeholders told a seminar held by the watchdog Police Watch that business operators on the island face police extortion worth millions of baht per month. The seminar was held at the Thai Journalists Association in Bangkok on Sunday. Thammarat Suwanphosri, founder and administrator of the “Spotlight Phuket”…
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Pattani man kills his girlfriend, stabs her brother, then jumps off Khao Rang viewpoint
29 year old Peeya Payae is under arrest at Vachira Hospital today, after allegedly killing his girlfriend by stabbing her in the head and then stabbing her brother before jumping off Khao Rang Viewpoint in an attempted suicide. Police found 30 year old Anusara Musoh with severe wounds on the back of her head inside the room where she lived…
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THAIGER TODAY Monday, November 20
50th anniversary for ASEAN Navies in Pattaya | Police – get a haircut! | Laguna Phuket Triathlon | Two entertainment venues closed for five years | Boat Lagoon Weekend returns next month.
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Marine and Coastal Resources check for protected shark meat in Karon
Officers from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Area 9 Phuket Office visited a Karon restaurant after a picture of them selling shark meat had gone viral on social media. The team visited the avenue on November 19 but couldn’t find sharks being sold as in the pictures. The shop owner, Narongchai Thanataweesakul, told the investigating team that the…
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Familiar faces take honours in the Phuket Triathlon
PHOTO: Facebook/Laguna Phuket Triathlon Firm favourites Michael Raelert of Germany and Amelia Watkinson of New Zealand successfully retained their titles in contrasting fashions in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday. 37 year old Raelert came from behind in the swim to stay neck and neck with arch-rival Anthony Costes of France in the concluding run before speeding up at the end…
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Ten Phuket police shipped off to inactive posts in BKK
The police inspector-general has issued two orders to transfer 10 Phuket police officers to inactive posts in Bangkok, causing dissatisfaction and affecting the morale of other officers. Four of the transferred officers were moved from the Patong police station amid allegations that their recent crackdown on a restaurant in the popular tourist town had affected the business of certain police…
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16 million Baht budget for second lifeguard auction
The OrBorJor Phuket has announced it will launch another auction to supply Phuket lifeguard services offering a budget of 16 million Baht. The date shall be confirmed within this month. Meanwhile, Satien Kaewpraprab, deputy secretary of the OrBorJor Phuket revealed that the organisation has been hiring individual lifeguards to station at 7 beaches which started on November 1, including Nai…
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Dr Thon urges authorities to scrap the Surin Beach retention wall
Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a renowned marine specialist, has commented on the retention wall project of Cherngtalay OrBorTor that is planned to be built on Surin Beach saying that such a wall will be harmful for the local eco-system and beach environment. “The retention wall project on Surin Beach, which…
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Fisheries to send ‘Laypang’ the crocodile to Phuket Zoo
An agreement has been reached by the Fisheries Department that the crocodile found in an old tin mine near Laypang Beach will be sent to the Phuket Zoo next month. The Director General of Fisheries Department, Dr. Adisorn Promthep, said today (November 17) that, following the DNA test by Mahidol University, they found that Laypang is a ‘mixed’ breed between…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, November 17
Featuring a local Kathu school and their marching band. Political arties can start getting ready for registration | Whale sharks found of Koh Kong | Baht reaches nearly 33 Baht/US dollar | Toon going solo to catch up with his running schedule | DSI gives marching orders to Layan beach-encroachers.
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, November 16
Meet Francesc Rovira, Michelin Star Chef | 3 dead and 48 injured in a bus crash | Toon OK after health scare | Building at Ao Sane will stay | four to be arrested for using drone during Royal Funeral.
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DSI visits Laypang Beach to recover encroached land from illegal businesses
An earlier attempt to remove Tony Restaurant from Laypang Beach in April 2016. The Director General of DSI, Pol Col Paisit Wongmuang, and the Deputy Director General, Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongsinil, along with their team and local authorities, visited Laypang Beach today (November 16) to give notice to the business operators who still occupy the land. The direction is…
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Krabi kindergarten teacher being investigated for pupil abuse
After a gathering of interested parents and teachers from the Utarakij School students at Krabi Damrongtham Centre, calling for the expulsion of the kindergarten teacher of class 1 and 2, after she allegedly abused her students (and allegedly attacked parents as well as locking up her students), Krabi Primary Education Office Deputy Director, Songserm Mengbut, has updated the situation. He…
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Surin Beach locals not happy with MaAnn’s retention wall
The team of Phuket Provincial Office of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, Thalang District Chief and other officials led by the Chief of Cherngtalay OrBorTor gathered at Surin Beach today (November 15) to meet with a group of about 50 local villagers, who disagree with the plan to build a retention wall along Surin Beach that will cost…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, November 15
Another drowning off Karon Beach | Illegal migrant numbers in Phuket rising | Condos are not a ‘bubble’, sales high | Governor pushes forward on dog pound | ASEAN skirts around Suu Kyi | One dead and another seven taken to hospital following crash on By Pass road this morning.
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60 year old Brit drowns at Karon
A 60 year old British tourist, Collin William Dean, drowned in Karon yesterday (November 14) after swimming in a red flagged zone. He went to the beach with his wife and drowned after getting dragged under by a strong waves. His wife called for help around and the people nearby jumped into the water to help him. He was brought…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.