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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FA u-turn on video technology
PHUKET: “Goal-line technology would be a huge boost for the game [football], and for years we’ve thought this was a good addition to a referee’s armory.” So says Alex Horne, general secretary of the FA, and shocking and confusing are ways to describe his statement. Let’s go back to a previous Phuket Gazette “quote of the day” posted on October…
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Phuket MP Anchalee accused of using flood relief to ‘buy’ support
PHUKET: Phuket Democrat MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr will defend herself in Parliament against allegations that she gave medical packs meant for flood victims to her own constituents going on the Haj in a bid to boost her support. Pheu Thai spokesman Phromphong Nopparit said the party would this week lodge a complaint with the Election Commission against MP Anchalee, the Thai-language…
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Phuket amnesty prisoners make merit for HM
PHUKET: Phuket prisoners today helped to clean up Wat Charoen Samanakit, located behind Phuket Provincial Hall, in order to make merit for HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej ahead of his 84th birthday on December 5. The 40 prisoners involved in the cleanup are all under consideration for amnesty under His Majesty’s annual birthday pardons, explained Phuket Prison Director Rapin Nichanon.…
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Bangkok bus, train services to South return to normal
PHUKET: After a month of Bangkok suffering from one of the worst floods to hit Thailand in the past century, bus services to Phuket and bus and train services to other destinations in southern Thailand have returned to normal. Rising flood waters forced bus services from the New Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on Borom Maratchachonnani Road in Bangkok…
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Phuket police bust uncovers dope ‘brick’ in woman’s shorts
PHUKET: Phuket Police acting on a tip-off arrested two people for possession and intent to sell marijuana on Monday night. One of the arrested was a woman who had a “brick” of marijuana stuffed into her shorts. The other was a man who was already wanted for dope charges. After receiving the tip-off that “someone” was selling drugs at a…
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7th Phuket International Sport Fishing tournament underway
PHUKET: The 7th Phuket International Sport Fishing Tournament (PIST) has cast off with the first day of competition taking participants out into the waters off Chalong Bay. With 80 participants who comprise 20 teams, the tournament has earned its place as the island’s premier annual fishing event which runs from November 24 to 26. Fishing enthusiasts from around the world…
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Phuket Governor confirmed to stay another year
PHUKET: Governor Tri Augkaradacha will remain the Governor of Phuket until October 2012, Manas Nurak, personal secretary to Governor Tri, confirmed today. Mr Manas said that the news comes following his office’s receipt of formal notification of the Thai Cabinet’s approval of the 34 transfers to be made among high-ranking positions in the Ministry of Interior, including the position of…
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Inaugural Copenhagen-Phuket flight welcomed
PHUKET: Thai Airway’s inaugural direct flight from Copenhagen landed safely at Phuket International Airport on Saturday.At the airport to greet the first 336 passengers aboard flight TG953 were the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Suraphon Svetasreni, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Vice President Bhuritt…
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Indigo Pearl Phuket wins spa design of the year
PHUKET: Leading luxury Phuket resort Indigo Pearl was honored recently with the Spa Design of the Year award for its Coqoon Spa at the prestigious AsiaSpa Awards 2011 held at The Mira Hotel in Hong Kong. The seventh annual AsiaSpa Awards are presented by AsiaSpa, the only magazine in Asia entirely dedicated to the pursuit of complete well-being. The AsiaSpa…
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Evoque SUV ideal for “new age’ business folk in Phuket
PHUKET: The Range Rover Evoque, the latest high-end Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) by Land Rover, hit the Phuket market with an official open-house party. The Evoque, with a starting price tag of 4.09 million baht, was introduced at the Benz Ramkhamhaeng Group (BRG) showroom in Rassada. The British-assembled SUV was initially unveiled in the United Kingdom in July, before making…
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Canon camera distribution unaffected by Thailand’s floods
PHUKET: Supply of Canon camera equipment in Thailand has not been disrupted by the recent flooding, a senior manager at Cannon Marketing (Thailand) has confirmed. “Luckily, our camera production facilities are not located in the affected areas,” said Warin Tantiphongpanid, Senior Director and General Manager Consumer Imaging and Information of Cannon Marketing (Thailand) Co Ltd. “We have a printer factory…
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Patong resort moves to stave off “boulder rain’
PHUKET: After waiting months for steps to be taken to prevent boulders from tumbling from the Guanyin construction site into their resort, management at L’Orchidee Residences in Patong have hired their own contractor. Jean-Claude Guillet, the retired developer and the owners’ representative of the resort, explained to the Phuket Gazette that the move follows months of failed attempts to get…
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Phuket death curve crash: Grieving father pleas for drivers to slow down
PHUKET: The father of Anupong Sae-Yu, the four-year-old boy who died in the accident at the Kor En curve on Thepkrasattri Road on Sunday, today tearfully urged motorists to slow down while passing the village. Speaking beside his son’s grave this morning, Somkid Opartwanitchkul told the Phuket Gazette, “He was only four years old and a kindergarten student. I want…
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Phuket gears up for first World Musiq Festival
PHUKET: Popular Thai artist Todd Tongdee Lavelle, a main organizer of the Phuket World Musiq Festival, has confirmed the lineup of artists who will be performing at the event. The festival, to honor the 84th birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, will be held at Saphan Hin, in Phuket Town, from December 2-5. The festival will open on December 2…
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Swedish snorkeler “likely died of heart attack’
PHUKET: The Swedish man who died off Racha Yai Island earlier today likely died of a heart attack, the Phuket Gazette has been told. Martin Anders Christer Nilsson, 63, was on a Phuket fishing tour with his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and her children when the incident occurred. “He had gotten off of the boat to go snorkeling,” said Phuket Tourist Police…
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KMS win Phuket junior soccer championship
PHUKET: Jungceylon recently held the Junior Soccer 2011 football tournament, the event’s fourth edition. This year’s tourney hosted a total of 32 teams from 25 schools from all over Phuket. Championship honors went to Tessaban Wat Kitti Sangkaram School, which is also known as Karon Municipality School. The champions were awarded a trophy and prize money of 10,000 baht, which…
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Phuket Sport – Tri a rest before Triathlon day
PHUKET: Many athletes feel insecure about their training during the week before race day. This is a highly important time used to recover from the load of training in the previous weeks. Experts call this the “Taper Phase”. A triathlete’s last long workout should be done exactly a week before the event. For the Laguna Phuket Triathlon I recommend a…
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Phuket sport tips: Tennis – power is balance
PHUKET: Balance is one of the fundamentals to developing great tennis ground strokes. In today’s game of power tennis, many of the players are leaping in the air to hit their forehands and backhands. This results in not only many errors but also many injuries. One of the great ground-strokers and inventor of the power game, Andre Agassi, had phenomenal…
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Swedish “fishing tourist’ found dead near Phuket
PHUKET: The body of a Swedish man was found today floating in the waters off Racha Yai Island, about 20 kilometers south of Phuket, police have confirmed. Phuket Tourist Police Volunteers were informed at 12:20pm that the body of the 63-year-old Swede had been found by staff of a diving company. The victim is believed to have fallen into the…
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Two new Phuket biz-consumer apps launched
PHUKET: Software developer Boonsoong Technology Co Ltd and media consultants, Phebe5 Co Ltd have partnered with local coffee shop chain Tiny Coffee to launch two new business-to-consumer mobile applications, designed exclusively for the Phuket consumer base. The two new mobile applications; “Tiny Coffee” and “Check in 4 Good Deals” were simultaneously launched last week at a press conference held at…
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Phuket police go to town on drug dealers
PHUKET: After Phuket police officers swooped on two suspected meth dealers in Chalong on Friday night, fellow police in Phuket City arrested seven people on drug-related charges over the weekend. At a press conference today, Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chidchai said that a team of anti-drug officers seized 60 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and more than 40 grams of…
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Phuket’s “Grumpy Old Men’ on mercy mission for flood victims
PHUKET: What started off as a conversation between Phuket businessman Paul Newson and his wife and business partner Skulna “Bird” Varayu has quickly developed into a relief effort to assist flood victims in the Central Thailand province of Nakhon Sawan. The original idea focused on helping immediate family in Nakhon Sawan, but the concept quickly snowballed into a larger effort…
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Phuket police swoop on two meth dealer suspects
PHUKET: Two suspected Phuket drug dealers have been busted by Chalong police. The young men were nabbed while in possession of methamphetamines during two different sting operations over the weekend. Police Lt Col Charan Bangprasert and Chalong police officers presented the two accused dealers to the media at Chalong Police Station on Saturday. The arrests were made after Chalong police…
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Phuket mob rises after accident kills two
PHUKET: Phuket’s top officials have called an emergency meeting today to discuss new strategies for road safety at the Kor En curve on Thepkrasattri Road after an accident there yesterday killed one woman and an infant on a motorbike. The curve, on the main road to Phuket Airport the main resort areas on the island and Phuket Town, was the…
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Phuket transport chief puts brakes on negligence
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) chief Terayout Prasertphol has announced strict new measures that will hold tour bus companies responsible for the mechanical safety of their vehicles.Under the new measures, tour bus companies stand to have their commercial passenger permits revoked entirely, meaning the companies’ right to operate any commercial passenger vehicles will be terminated, chief Terayout told…
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PHUKET OPINION: Patong-style wisdom faces the fragrance
PHUKET: The plan by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin to install a fertilizer factory at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant must be heralded as good news. (See page 3, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.) Just the week before Mayor Pian made his announcement, the Gazette received reports of yet another “chocolate…
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THAI flights to Phuket still operating “as usual’
PHUKET: Thai Airways International (THAI) is still operating its full schedule of regular flights between Bangkok and Phuket – for now. An officer from the ‘Enterprise Communication Department’ of THAI, asking not to be named, told the Phuket Gazette, “I have yet to receive any news about reductions in flights to Phuket.” Her statement was in response to a report…
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Balls to Bangkok: From Phuket with Love
PHUKET: A total of 100,000 EM (effective microorganism) balls handmade by Phuket students and three flood-rescue boats were handed over to the Royal Thai Army yesterday in the hope of providing some assistance to flood victims in Bangkok. Somboonsri Koeysiripong, president of the Women’s Territorial Defense Volunteer Association (WTDVA), yesterday made a token handover of the balls to Lt Gen…
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Phuket tourism chief calls for “flood travel advisories’ to be lifted
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) has asked for the cooperation of foreign governments to reduce and/or lift travel advisories and warnings issued for Thailand. PTA President Somboon Jirayus told the press on Thursday that sensationalized images presented through foreign media have caused a decreasing number of tourists to come to Phuket. “Flooding images in the foreign media have [negatively]…
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Jailed Brit swindler Paul Ridden free of Phuket charges
PHUKET: Former Phuket expat Paul Ridden, who earlier this week was sentenced to four years in jail for fraud and deception charges in the UK, will not face any charges for any alleged fraud committed on Phuket. Lt Col Boonlert Onklang, Duty Officer at Chalong Police Station, today told the Phuket Gazette that not a single complaint in writing was…
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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