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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Songkhla man unconscious after savage beating by Phuket youth gang
PHUKET: Phuket police are investigating the beating of a man from Songkhla who was set upon by a gang of youths in Cherng Talay last night. Local police received reports of gunfire and a wounded man outside a row of flats on Pasak Soi 4 in Cherng Talay Village 4 at 10pm. At the scene they found the victim, 21-year-old…
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Phuket officials plan B20mn ‘final solution’ for Patong Hill road
PHUKET: The section of hill road between Patong and Phuket Town that caved in during the heavy rain last week has received makeshift repairs and is now open to traffic, thanks to an emergency injection of cash from the Department of Highways. The road was reopened after two days of reconstruction, explained Samak Luedwonghad, the director of the Department of…
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Phuket to get new police chief in latest reshuffle
PHUKET: Phuket will get a new provincial police commander as part of a nationwide reshuffle of top provincial-level officers. Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Chalit Kaewyarat today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette the results of the reshuffle announced at a meeting of the National Police Committee at Royal Police Headquarters in Bangkok yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who as…
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Six injured sea turtles beach in Phuket, Phang Nga in one day
PHUKET: The six Olive Ridley sea turtles that were found washed ashore on beaches in Phuket and Phang Nga on Tuesday were almost all suffering serious injuries from encounters with fishing equipment. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), told the Gazette that the beachings were due in part to strong…
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Sunken Phuket speedboat was legal: Marine Office
PHUKET: Following the capsize of the speedboat Luk Pradu 26 off Phi Phi Island on Monday, Marine Office chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut has confirmed to the Gazette that the Luk Pradu 26 was legal and both structurally and mechanically sound. “The speedboat [was a composite] with some parts fabricated from wood. There were no problems with the vessel. It was insured,…
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Search continues for killer Phi Phi speedboat
PHUKET: Krabi Police are still working to identify vessels that were at Tonsai Beach on Phi Phi Island when a French tourist was killed while snorkeling in the area on August 18. Police suspect a fast-moving speedboat struck and killed French national Olivier Raymond Philippe Jannequin. The police report into Mr Jannequin’s death included a statement from Phi Phi Island…
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Andrew Strauss: “It just hasn’t been a consideration”
PHUKET: “I first spoke to Andy Flower about it prior to the Kevin Pietersen incident rearing its head, it just hasn’t been a consideration.”England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from the game. He put his decision down to a loss of form and denied it had anything to do with his public spat with Kevin Pietersen, which…
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Phuket Town flood victims apply for assistance
PHUKET: More than 100 Phuket Town families whose homes or businesses were damaged by flooding last week have registered for assistance through Phuket City Municipality. Peerapong Matra from the Social Welfare Department told the Gazette that Phuket City Municipality opened a flood-relief center on August 23, the day after Phuket Town flooded. “We initially wanted to close the center on…
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Phuket Live Wire: It’s the future of computers
PHUKET: August is usually a rather dull month for the computer industry. This August started out with an enormous amount of activity, but as the days wane, so does the news. All eyes at this point are fixed on the coming Christmas season. And it looks like Christmas this year will be very interesting indeed. Microsoft has already released its…
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Phuket expat Frenchman stands to lose B100mn home in national park land raid
PHUKET: A French businessman will have to suffer his 100-million-baht luxury villa in Phuket being demolished if the land it is on is ruled to be encroaching on national park land. The new chief of Sirinath National Park, Cheewapap Cheewatham, filed a complaint with police after a surprise raid on the property on Sunday. The raid was led by Sermyos…
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Phuket man dies of heroin overdose in gas station bathroom
PHUKET: A Phuket man died of an apparent heroin overdose in a gas station bathroom in Thalang yesterday. Staff at the Shell service station on Thepkrasattri Road southbound in Thepkrasattri Subdistrict notified Thalang Police of the death at 4:30pm. Arriving at the station with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, police found the body of a man slumped over in the middle…
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Officials launch drive to register illegal Phuket taxis
PHUKET: Illegal taxi drivers in key tourist areas in Phuket will have the chance to apply to become legal as part of the government’s campaign to resolve the decades-old problem of illegal drivers plying Phuket’s lucrative tourism trade. The news was announced yesterday by Provincial Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief Teerayut Prasertpol at a meeting of provincial officials, police and…
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Vote recount costs Khon Baan Rao clear majority
PHUKET: A recount of votes cast in a single electorate in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) council election on Sunday has cost the leading Khon Baan Rao party its clear majority on the council. The news came this afternoon as PPAO Chief Administrative Officer Manop Leelasuthanon explained to the Phuket Gazette, “There was an error when officers entered the…
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Officers “defuse car bomb’ in emergency response exercise at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Officers from a variety police stations across the island yesterday took part in a multi-agency exercise to counter the prospect of a car bomb being detected and another bomb actually detonating at Phuket International Airport. Police from Phuket City, Tah Chat Chai and Thalang police stations were joined by Thalang Hospital staff to take part in the exercise, which…
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Village people file complaint over Phuket pub noise
PHUKET: Villagers in Baan Tha Rua in Srisoonthorn, just north of Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument, yesterday filed a group complaint against one entertainment venue in the area for noise pollution and closing after the regulated trading hours. Village chief Chalermpol Gerdsub handed the complaint to Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) at Phuket Provincial Hall. The complaint…
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Tour company offers compensation for capsized speedboat ordeal
PHUKET: The Phuket-based company operating tours on board the speedboat that capsized off Phi Phi Island in rough seas yesterday has vowed to cover all medical expenses for those injured in the incident and to offer compensation for the emotional stress suffered. Pongsak Pachantabut, the manager of Phuket New Generation Travel Company, today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that there…
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Police brutality complaint filed over drug suspect arrest
PHUKET: A man who claims his nephew was severely beaten by five Thalang police officers trying to extract more information after they had arrested him for drug possession has filed a complaint at the Phuket Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office).Prapakorn Waharak, a 20-year-old Thalang resident, was accompanied to the Damrongtham Center at Provincial Hall yesterday by his uncle Prapan Waharak, 40,…
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All safe after Phuket speedboat capsizes in rough seas
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have confirmed that none of the tourists or crew on board a speedboat that capsized in the heavy seas off the coast of Phi Phi Island are missing.The 24 Chinese tourists on board the boat, Luk Pradu 26, arrived at Chalong Pier late this afternoon.Seven of them had suffered minor injuries and were taken to…
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Turtle tangled in fishing net rescued from Phuket beach
PHUKET: An adult Ridley sea turtle, tangled up in a discarded fishing net, washed onto Karon Beach alive, but injured, yesterday afternoon. The female turtle, weighing about 40 kilograms was spotted by a tourist on the beach. A lifeguard, alerted to the situation, contacted the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Endangered Species Unit. “The turtle was washed ashore with a…
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Phuket ‘false rape’ victim Bamford to reveal all on Australian prime time TV
PHUKET: Stevie Bamford, the 21-year-old Australian tourist who in June confessed to Thai police that she had filed a false rape claim in Phuket, steps onto the Australian prime-time television show Today Tonight to reveal the ‘truth’ about her sexual assault in Thailand. In her original report of the incident to Patong Police, Ms Bamford claimed she was attacked by…
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Patong Hospital ramps up flood defenses
PHUKET: A project costing 16 million baht to better protect Patong Hospital from flooding is expected to be completed by January 7, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Pheu Thai Party Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit were told on Friday. The news follows Patong Hospital flooding during the downpours last week, prompting Governor Tri and MP Prompong to visit the facility to…
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Push for new Patong Road in protected Phuket forest gains ground
PHUKET: Officials are hoping to have enough public support by October to start the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for a 100-million-baht road through protected Phuket forest connecting Patong and Chalong. The EIA will be a critical hurdle for the project as the proposed route will cut through at least one kilometer of protected national forest in the Nakkerd Hills. In…
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Phuket Sports: Dragons still on fire despite the rain
PHUKET: A single goal in the final minutes of the first half was enough for Thai Yamaha 1 runaway league leaders, Ratchaburi FC to prevail over Phuket FC last night. Played on a damp pitch under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the match was one of the first for Phuket FC this season to be broadcast live on national cable…
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Phuket FC ready for showdown with Ratchaburi
PHUKET: First-place Ratchaburi FC is in “fine form” and preparing to play attacking football in tonight’s highly-anticipated match against Phuket FC, the team’s coach told a pre-match press conference yesterday. Speaking in the Phuket FC office opposite Surakul Stadium, Ratchaburi Coach Somchai Maiwelai said, “Even though there is a considerable gap between our teams [26 points], we’re not going to…
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Loan shark bagman shot in Phang Nga
PHUKET: A debt collector for a local loan shark survived a bullet wound to his back inflicted by a gang of teenagers in Phang Nga yesterday afternoon.The victim, Somchai Chaonalai, arrived by motorbike to Thung Kha Ngok District Police Station after the shooting to ask police there for assistance in getting to hospital. Lt Prajuab Wongthong, who was on duty…
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Thailand’s coral reefs 50% gone: Phuket marine biologist
PHUKET: With coral reef systems in Thai coastal waters at a “crisis” level, the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) has vowed to step up his department’s efforts to mitigate the damage caused by the fishing industry and other human factors.“Currently, our natural coral reefs are not half of what they used to be – we are in…
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Families of Phuket disco fire accept Bt1mn compensation
PHUKET: Families of the two Thai victims killed in the Tiger Discotheque fire on August 17 accepted compensation cheques of 1 million baht each during a ceremony in Phuket yesterday. The handover ceremony at the Tiger Live Band venue in Patong, not far down Bangla Road from the gutted disco, was shown live on Thai TV Channel 7 as part…
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Phuket Sports: Rory roars to another Major
PHUKET: The last Major on this year’s PGA Tour golfing calendar, the PGA Championship, was played at the Ocean Course Kiawah Island South Carolina, one of the most difficult courses in the world. Before the tournament started, Kiawah Island had heavy thunder storms, similar to the weather in Phuket presently. As all the world’s top professionals gathered, including newly crowned…
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Phuket Sports: Premiership preview
PHUKET: The Premiership returned last weekend to bring joy and pain back to football fans across Phuket again. The drama and excitement of the world’s most popular football league was played out across England, with all 20 teams playing over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Saturday saw seven games played with the stand-out result being West Brom’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool.…
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PM Yingluck Shinawatra invited to speak at Phuket Halal Expo
PHUKET: The organizers of the annual Phuket Halal Expo, to take place early next month, have invited Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan to give speeches at the event, which will have special activities in Patong and Phuket Town. Officially entitled “Phuket Andaman Halal for Tourism 2012”, the expo is intended to showcase the island’s Muslim…
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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