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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Video Report: Pony Up – Phuket marine conservationists launch international seahorse specialty course
PHUKET: Marine conservationists in Phuket today announced the international launch of a seahorse diver specialty course to promote accurate crowdsourcing as Thailand, and the rest of the world, attempts to protect endangered populations. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course will teach student divers the basics of seahorse biology and conservation, how to identify and search for seahorses and…
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One-stop center for migrant worker registration to open in Phuket this month
PHUKET: Migrant workers living and working illegally on Phuket may be able to become fully legal and registered by the end of the month, confirmed the island’s employment office chief yesterday. “We expect illegal workers to be able to register at Phuket’s one-stop center by the end of the month. All application processes and procedures will be completed in one…
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Pipe to bring water to Phuket from mainland takes another step toward reality
PHUKET: A pipe that would supply Phuket with water from the mainland came a step closer to reality yesterday with the conclusion of the feasibility study and second public hearing. “With the feasibility study completed, the next step is to run an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and get approval, then we can determine the budget,” said Chamnian Muangchan, director of…
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Phuket to be waste management model for nation
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has vowed to find a budget to fix Phuket’s third incinerator, broken since 2012, and make the island a model of garbage management for other provinces to follow. Royal Thai Navy Commander Narong Pipathanasai made the pledge after touring the island’s waste facility at Saphan Hin on Monday. On a similar tour in March (story…
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Knife-wielding bag snatcher bagged by Phuket police
PHUKET: Police snared the knife-wielding thief who threatened and robbed a Chinese couple last night at Karon View Point in just over 24 hours. “We were notified about the attack at about 10:30 yesterday morning,” said Lt Col Ason Jiraksa of the Karon Police. “The victims said the man threatened them with a knife, snatched the woman’s bag and then…
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Phuket officials board fishing vessels to check for human trafficking victims
PHUKET: Officials stepped off Phuket to spot-check five fishing vessels this morning as Thailand ramps up its efforts to stifle human trafficking. “We came out to the boats to ensure that there were no trafficking victims on fishing boats in the province. We also talked with the fishermen to establish whether or not they were being treated fairly by their…
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Be alert, Phuket: Traffic violation clampdown begins today
PHUKET: Police officers throughout Phuket are ready to dish out fines for motorists who violate traffic laws as part of a nationwide crackdown on road safety starting today. The Royal Thai Police identified 199 intersections throughout the country known for being traffic-heavy and dangerous, three of which are in Phuket, said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Sakchai Limcharoen yesterday. They…
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Phuket police hunt handcuffed thief who fled from police vehicle at red light
PHUKET: A handcuffed man left behind only his slippers today when he jumped from a police pick-up truck while it was stopped at a red light. Boonrit Boontang, 22, who has been evading police since his escape, had been arrested on July 15 for stealing a motorbike. He was being transferred to Phuket Provincial Court at about 11:30am when he…
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Phuket Raceweek: Foxy Lady too hot to handle
PHUKET: Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady VI scored two firsts in the opening day of racing in the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek Regatta, which began today off the east coast of Phuket. Peter Ahern’s TP52 Oi! cut a clear lead from the fleet from the outset, but a spinnaker error at the leeward mark handed the advantage to Foxy Lady,…
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Phuket Raceweek: Fast boats, slick crews to make most of blustery weather
PHUKET: The shift to heavy weather this week has set the scene for dramatic racing off Phuket’s east coast as a fleet of 36 yachts compete in this year’s edition of the renowned Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek Regatta. Racing began today following last night’s gala opening party. Setting the courses over the next four days is Simon James, who…
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Italian couple return home to find Phuket rental house on fire
PHUKET: A short circuit started a fire in the Cherng Talay rental house of an Italian couple yesterday, damaging their bedroom. Antonino Raneri, 54, and his wife Claudia Crescini Laffranchini, 56, were out when the blaze started on Soi Bangtao 11. “At about 5pm my wife and I came home and saw smoke coming from the house,” said Mr Raneri.…
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Phuket python magnet catches third snake seeking shelter
PHUKET: An unlucky resident in northern Phuket suffered deja vu early this morning as he discovered that a two-meter-long python had taken cover from the rain in his chicken coop. At about 1:30am, Chokdee Inklub heard his chickens crying loudly so he went out to investigate. “I found a snake in the coop,” said Mr Chokdee. Rescue workers from the…
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Islands off Phuket’s east coast next up in beach cleanup
PHUKET: The islands of Koh Naka Yai and Koh Naka Noi are the next targets in the great Phuket beach cleanup, which has now spread to sands on and off the island’s east coast. Officials planned to visit the islands this afternoon but were informed by a local official that residents there had started clearing illegal beach structures on their…
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Phuket shop owners helpful in clearing Phuket east coast beachfront
PHUKET: The clearing of Phuket’s beaches reached the east coast today as officers helped Ao Por locals dismantle shacks, sun shades and stalls set up along the beachfront. “We had about 70 people on our task force including Navy personnel and staffers from the Pa Khlok Municipality, as well as officers from the Thalang Police Station and Marine Office,” said…
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Bondi Bar Bashers impress with victory over Village
PHUKET: In the second round of the Outrigger T20 competition, the Village played Bondi Beach Bashers in what promised to be an exciting game with The Village welcoming back a few of their previous stars. The Village won the toss and elected to bat, however, they got off to a shaky start, losing both their opening batsmen in the first…
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A Phuket success story: British siblings’ locate saviors nearly a decade after the tsunami
PHUKET: A Facebook hunt led by British siblings for a man and woman who helped them during the devastating 2004 tsunami is over; their guardians have been found. Upin Sengmuang, a small shop owner on Tri Trang Beach, learned today that she and her partner Pitchat were being sought by Emily and Ben Willgrass, who had posted a message on…
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Phuket lawyers push mediation as alternative to court
PHUKET: Lawyers and Phuket officials promoting mediation as an alternative to civil lawsuits held their annual informational event today to raise awareness of the option. “The purpose of our event, Mediation 2014, is to encourage people involved in civil lawsuits to settle their cases outside of court. It tends to be a much swifter process and is offered free of…
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First beach on Phuket’s east coast to be cleared tomorrow
PHUKET: The island’s great beach clearing will reach the east coast for the first time tomorrow when 50 municipal officers and navy personnel descend on the small seaside village of Ao Por. “We officially informed people last week that they had to clear everything off the beach and beachfront,” said Pa Khlok Mayor Panya Sampaorat. “Yesterday, we repeated the message…
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It’s raining snakes: enormous Phuket python seeks shelter
PHUKET: A four-meter-long python gave an unsuspecting Phuket Town resident a fright this morning. “I was cleaning and had just started on the back room of my house when I saw a big snake lying on the floor,” said 67-year-old homeowner Boonsaner Kullavanit. The startled Ms Boonsaner immediately called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, who arrived at the house on Surin…
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Video goes viral of Phuket beach club emptying trash bags in sand
PHUKET: A video posted on YouTube showing Surin beach club staff burying the contents of black garbage bags in the sand is not a matter of concern, says Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-ann Samran. “I saw the video a long time ago and had my staff check it out,” Mayor Ma-ann told the Phuket Gazette today. In the video, taken a…
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Navy tears down Phuket beach restaurants at Nai Yang
PHUKET: About 100 Navy personnel and national park officers are this morning continuing their “mop up” operation after tearing down 11 restaurants and bars at Phuket’s Nai Yang Beach yesterday. “We notified these vendors that they were encroaching on national park land and ordered them many times to remove their buildings, but they ignored us,” Sirinath National Park Chief Kitiphat…
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Brazil 2014 strong contender as best-ever World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World sport selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community RIO DE JANEIRO – The 2014 World Cup provided an unmatched level of football, outstanding individual moments, shocks, some controversy and it all took place in stadiums packed with knowledgeable and passionate fans. Taken as a whole, the 64 games in Brazil, were unparalleled as a…
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Crackdown on tourist visas sees dozens turned away per month at Phuket’s main portal to Malaysia
PHUKET: Tourists unable to prove the legitimacy of their trip to Thailand are being turned away despite having tourist visas issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed Lt Col Banphot Kittivira, deputy superintendent of the Immigration checkpoint at Sadao. The Sadao checkpoint, the portal for Phuket visa runners bound for Malaysia, sees about 100 foreigners denied entry into the…
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Death of Korean tourist mired in murky Phuket dive company waters
PHUKET: Police have confirmed that they are investigating the death of a Korean tourist who was pulled unconscious from the water while diving near Coral Island, off Phuket’s southeast coast, on Saturday. Kim Sang Min, 47, had been in the water for just a few minutes when the guide saw him floating on the surface shortly before 10am. “The tour…
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Phuket bag handler nabbed for swiping tourist’s Mac laptops
PHUKET: Tourist Police on Saturday arrested a bus bag handler in Phuket for stealing two laptops from a Chinese woman last week. Ywei Guo, 24, boarded the Trang-Phuket bus in Krabi Town last Wednesday. Only after arriving in Phuket did Ms Ywei notice that her Macbook Pro and Macbook Air were missing from her bag, which had been loaded into…
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Thai dessert seller found drowned under sidecar in canal
PHUKET: A woman who sold Thai desserts was found drowned, trapped under her sidecar in the Klong Koh Pee canal on the outskirts of Phuket Town, yesterday. Police called to the scene in Soi Sakdidet 9 in Wichit at 9am saw the wheels of a sidecar above the water, said Lt Jarus Laempan of the Wichit Police. After 20 minutes,…
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Phuket land titles eating away at national park to be revoked, says Navy Commander
PHUKET: The ownership of 89 plots of land in Sirinath National Park is in the process of being revoked, confirmed the head of the Royal Thai Navy yesterday. The plots encompass a land area of 1,200 rai, said Capt Petcharat Teanjan, speaking on behalf of Royal Thai Navy Commander Narong Pipathanasai. The land is all held under SorKor 1 “claim…
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Java on fire to win Phuket Multihull Solutions Regatta
PHUKET: Mick Coleman and his crew on Java blazed around the course off the east coast of Phuket over the weekend to win the Racing Multihull Class in the Phuket Multihull Solutions Regatta. Java mastered wind blasts of up to 30 knots to score four firsts and two second-place finishes, amassing a total of just six points to lift the…
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Germany’s strength in depth delivers ultimate prize
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germany’s strength in depth delivers ultimate prize Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Germany’s impressive strength in depth proved the decisive factor in their 1-0 extra-time World Cup final victory over Argentina on Sunday as Lionel Messi failed to deliver the golden touch for the South Americans.…
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DNP chief locked and loaded: targets high-ranking officials over Phuket land snatching
PHUKET: More than 1,000 rai of Phuket land illegally owned by former ministers, deputies and provincial governors will be returned to the public, said Samak Donnapee, director of the Bureau of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). “The 92 plots being taken back are in Sakoo and Cherng Talay,” confirmed Sirinath National Park Chief Kitiphat Tharapiban to the Phuket…
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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