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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Phuket Gazette announcement
The Phuket Gazette would like to apologize to Miss Siriporn ‘Kat’ Saenpap for any public misunderstanding or loss of reputation related to her inclusion in an online news photo of her with her former husband, Mr Yvon Van Eyseren of Belgium, who was arrested by Phuket City Police on February 17 this year. Miss Siriporn has presented the Gazette with…
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Phuket Chinese cemetery fire set by spiritual arsonists
PHUKET TOWN: Arson was the cause behind a fire that raged among the graves of the Chinese cemetery near Rang Hill in Phuket Town yesterday. A villager living nearby said the fire started around 3pm. Phuket City Municipality firefighters put the blaze out, but it reignited again in the evening. It was set deliberately, the man said. “It normally happens…
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Burmese labor extortionist busted in Phuket sting
PHUKET TOWN: A man posing as a government official was arrested on Wednesday for extorting money at a Burmese construction workers’ camp. Leading the arrest was Thammarong Chuy-aksorn, deputy chief administrative officer of Thalang District, who led a team of 14 undercover officers to carry out a sting operation at the camp. Mr Thammarong said the action followed numerous complaints…
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Heroines’ Memorial Fair starts tomorrow in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket’s annual Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn Fair starts tomorrow in Thalang. The fair, which runs until March 20, will take place at Thalang Victory Memorial Park near the Heroines’ Monument. Highlights will include a theatrical performance recreating the two heroines’ famous victory. The pair, known as Jan and Muk before they were ennobled with the title ‘Thao,’ led…
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Phuket taxi drives off with Finnish tourist’s bag
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver drove off with a Finnish tourist’s bag while she and her parents were carrying shopping back to their hotel room on Tuesday. The taxi picked up Sini Kukkonen, 17, Lauri Kukkonen, 61, and Tanja Kannerua, 59, on the bypass road between Central and Big-C around 10pm. While they were unloading their shopping at the Phuket…
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NEWS hound: Phuket to benefit from big airline sale
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: AirAsia is conducting another big sales promotion this month, offering more destinations, including Phuket, at even lower fares than their previous sale last August. Phuket is one of…
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Well-known DJ found dead in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: A DJ at the popular Boat Bar in Patong was found dead in his bedroom above the venue last night. Police believe 35-year-old Ratchanon Bawonsakulchart, known as ‘DJ Nat’, died of chronic health problems. Colleagues found Mr Ratchanon, who was from Bangkok, dead on his bedroom floor at around 8pm. Boat Bar, located on the access road to…
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Phuket water plant worker dies in freak accident
PHUKET: An employee at a desalination plant in Karon died yesterday when he was sucked into a high pressure intake hose at the facility. The worker, 40-year-old Tannit Pramungij, accidentally fell into a large vessel containing sea water while performing routine maintenance at the REQ Water Services plant about 2:30pm on Tuesday. Mr Tannit was sucked into a 30-meter length…
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Thai police seize internet chat logs
PHUKET: More than 20 police from the Economic and Cyber-Crimes Division (ECOTEC) have raided the offices of Thai state-owned telecommunications company CAT Telecom and confiscated chat-room conversation records and a server. Police Lieutenant General Tha-ngai Prasajaksatru, commander of ECOTEC, said the raid at CAT Tower yesterday focused on the Internet data center and was in response to a radical pro-Thaksin…
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More aid for young leukemia patient in Phuket
PHUKET: Several more organizations have donated additional funds to help the 16-year-old leukemia patient in Phuket who wrote a letter to HM The King asking for help. Jenarong Tapklaeng’s mother Wasuthida collected checks totaling 36,000 baht at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. The money included 30,000 baht from Lions Club of Phuket Andaman Sea, 2,000 baht from Phuket Social Welfare Office,…
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NEWS Hound: Thai MPs opt for bullet proof vehicles
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Members of Thailand’s Council of Ministers have begun swapping their official sedans for bullet-proof vehicles following a warning by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. According to ThaiVisa.com, this was…
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Kapek almost kaput in Phuket
PHUKET: A rare type of wild rice introduced to Phuket more than 60 years ago is in danger of disappearing from the island, officials say. Four years ago there were seven farms growing Manchurian wild rice – known locally as kapek – for commercial purposes. Now there are only two left, said Pradub Chusakulvong of Kathu Agricultural Office. “The main…
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NEWS Hound: Songkran celebrations Phuket style
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: The annual Songkran festival, to be celebrated nationally April 13-15, will again see turtles to the fore at Phuket’s beaches. Releases of hundreds of hatchlings of the endangered…
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Phuket to benefit from continuation of stimulus package
PHUKET: Less than one month after Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Thaivisa.com that the free tourist visa scheme would end on March 5, 2010, the Thai Government has announced that the tourism stimulus package will continue for another year, along with US$10,000 worth of free riot insurance for tourists. The extension of the stimulus package was approved by the…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver returns Russian tourist’s wallet
PATONG, PHUKET: A tuk-tuk driver last week returned a lost wallet to a Russian couple on holiday in Patong. At about 2pm on February 26, sharp-eyed Seree Yodthueng noticed the wallet in the back of an unmanned tuk-tuk belonging to a fellow member of the Patong Taxi Federation. The tuk-tuk was parked along Phang Muang Road, behind Jungceylon. The wallet…
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FC Phuket Sea Kirin pick up first-ever home win
PHUKET TOWN: FC Phuket recorded their first ever home win on Sunday, scoring two dramatic late goals to down Nakhon Sri Thammarat 3-1. Nakhon Sri Thammarat went into the Sunday afternoon match hoping for a repeat of last year’s success, when they beat Phuket FC 4-3. It was not to be. Strengthened by the return of Ivory Coast midfielder Ali…
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NEWS Hound: Another Phuket Island in the Philippines?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. Business Mirror Banyan Tree’s $300-million development project to turn the 60-hectare Diwaran Island, Philippines, into the next tourist paradise in Southeast Asia should start very soon with the release…
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New Phuket Bus Station to open mid-2010, at the earliest
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Land Transport Office appears resigned to run the new Phuket Provincial Bus Terminal by itself after two local governing bodies have lost interest in operating the facility. Work on the new station was completed in early December, but efforts by the Transport Office to find a local government body to administer operations there appear to have…
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Meet Phuket’s most dogged new reporter
PHUKET: Readers of the Phuket Gazette who have been in Thailand for awhile will recall the days of ‘Outside/In’, our regular weekly column summarizing news about Thailand from around the world. We’ve brought it back today, under the watchful eye of Master News Hound, a soi dog with an allergy to ‘long’. While the daily harvests of media scouting in…
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NEWS Hound: Phuket quiet in wake of court ruling
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. Business WeekDespite the bomb attacks on Bangkok Bank on Saturday night, in which four branches were targeted with grenades, the outlook may not be all bad for the Thai…
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Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: Do you drink and drive?
PHUKET TOWN: Road safety is always a hot topic in Phuket, especially drunk driving. The latest Phuket Gazette Poll, posted today, asks readers if they have ever operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in Phuket and, if so, how often. Let us know by clicking here or on the icon at the top right corner of…
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Readers’ Poll: Phuket economy after Court ruling
PHUKET: The court on Friday found Mr Thaksin guilty of abuse of power, ordering the seizure of 46 billion baht of the fugitive former prime minister’s 76 billion baht in frozen assets. There were 523 respondents to the poll, which asked readers what they thought the Supreme Court’s ruling would be, and what effect it would have on Phuket tourism.…
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MOTORBIKES: Let’s get honest with tourists
PHUKET: Apart from the obvious need to fit all taxis and tuk-tuks on the island with meters, another pressing topic emerged during this month’s meeting between Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and Phuket’s 16 honorary consuls: the need to give foreign tourists a better chance of returning home alive should they insist on renting a motorbike. Casualty figures alone justify the…
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Phuket jet-skis still uninsured
PHUKET: A number of jet-skis continue to operate in Phuket uninsured, despite a scheme launched last year aimed at having every jet-ski in Phuket covered by accident insurance. Of the island’s 219 registered jet-skis, 43 still have not joined the scheme. In addition, around 40 unregistered jet-skis continue to operate illegally on Patong Beach. Marine Transport Department Officer Songchai Na…
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Phuket Police prepared for Thaksin assets ruling
PHUKET: Phuket’s most senior cop says he has no intelligence suggesting there will be political protests in Phuket today, when the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the fate of Thaksin Shinawatra’s Bt76bn in seized assets. Despite this, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said there could be ‘other kinds of mobs’ to deal with, so police need to be…
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Phuket ready for Blues Rock Fest
KARON, PHUKET: Artists taking part in the two-day Phuket International Blues Rock Festival that kicks off at 5pm tomorrow gathered today inside the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort ballroom for a brief pre-event press conference. Festival Director Andy Andersen started by thanking new sponsor Thai Airways, then welcomed the artists and told the media about some exciting new developments for this…
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Accident victims now monitoring Phuket roads
PHUKET TOWN: In a long awaited project to provide accident victims with gainful employment, four disabled people are now monitoring screens in the CCTV control room at Phuket City Police Station. Following a week of training on how to operate the cameras, the four new employees started work on February 11. They are spending eight hours a day watching live…
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Weather advisory for Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Following heavy rains over much of Phuket this morning and afternoon, the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) office at Phuket International Airport has issued its first weather advisory of 2010. Issued at 1pm, the advisory warns people in risk areas to beware of thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind. Meteorologist Sopon Sangkaew told the Gazette there was no…
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Indian navy training in Phuket ends today
PHUKET: Some 900 Indian Navy midshipmen are shipping out from Phuket this afternoon after taking part in training exercises aboard three visiting Indian warships: the INS TIR, the INS Krishna and the ICGS Varuna. An Indian delegation, including Southern Naval Area Commander-in-Chief V/Adm Krishnan Nair Sushil and Indian Ambassador Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, met their Thai counterparts at the Royal Thai…
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Readers’ Poll: Thaksin assets verdict won’t impact economy
PHUKET TOWN: The majority of Phuket Gazette readers do not think Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on Bt76 billion in assets linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin will have an impact on Phuket’s tourism economy, according to the latest readers’ poll. As of this morning, over 475 readers cast votes in the poll. Overall, 66% of readers thought the ruling would…
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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