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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New homes for Phuket sea gypsies
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Seventeen families in the fire-ravaged sea gypsy village of Ban Hin Look Diow will move into new dwellings early next month, thanks to the efforts of Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and Phuket Technical College students. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall last week, Gov Wichai said the new homes would be handed over to the villagers…
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THAI launches direct Phuket – Hong Kong flights
PHUKET CITY: With the high season for tourism almost here, Thai Airways International (THAI) has begun direct flights between Phuket and Hong Kong three times weekly.An Airbus 330-300 leaves Phuket at 1:15pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.Return flights leave Hong Kong at 8am on the same days.Forty-two seats are reserved for passengers in business class, with the remainder in economy.The…
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Last night for Phuket Veg Fest ’09
PHUKET CITY: Devotees who have spent the last eight days without meat, alcohol or sex will be able to resume their usual ways at the stroke of midnight tonight when the Chinese Warrior Gods depart and the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival comes to an end. As in years past, Saphan Hin is expected to be the center of activity this…
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Phuket Poll Results: Start digging!
PHUKET CITY: Most Phuket Gazette readers think the proposed Patong Tunnel project should go ahead, according to the results of our latest poll. The poll asked readers to give their views on the proposed project, which would involve digging a road tunnel through the hills that divide Patong from the rest of Kathu. Of the 900 readers who voted, 55.6%…
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Protesters demand intervention in Phuket land dispute
PHUKET: A crowd of about 60 protesters set up camp near Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to demand that the Phuket Governor step in to resolve a conflict over land entitlement where construction of Panason City Village is underway. The protesters claim that some home owners have been tricked into giving up their homes and that others are being pressured…
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OPINION: TAT should do more for Phuket festival
PHUKET: The Vegetarian Festival ends this evening – not just here in Phuket, but also in other ethnic Chinese communities all over the country. Phuket’s Chinese community rightfully takes great pride in their town being the birthplace of the festival in Thailand – as well as the fact that Chinese communities in other provinces have followed suit. The event is…
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B100 million seized in Phuket drug bust
PHUKET: The Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau carried out a sting operation in Phuket at 2am yesterday, arresting a man and seizing 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills, 300,000 baht in cash, weapons, vehicles, gold and land. The value of the items seized totals more than 100 million baht, according to the Narcotics Crime Suppression Bureau. The suspect was arrested after a policeman pretended to be a…
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Phuket’s Happy Air ready for takeoff
PHUKET CITY: New carrier Happy Air will launch its Phuket to Haad Yai route on October 31, following on November 1 with flights to Langkawi in Malaysia.Happy Air Marketing Manager Phatcharapon Sontipun said the service will be aboard the carrier’s Swedish-built SAAB 340 A, a 34-seat twin-engine turboprop.The aircraft is expected to arrive in Phuket on Monday.The daily flights will…
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New sinkhole on Patong Hill road
PHUKET CITY: Conditions on the already-treacherous Patong Hill road took another turn for the worse yesterday, when another sinkhole appeared just meters from a similar cavity that was hastily repaired in late August. Patong Municipal official Sompong Jiumtau said municipal workers put traffic cones around the crevasse as soon as it was first noticed before dusk yesterday. The hole had…
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Finnish expat dies in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A Scandinavian expat was found dead in his Patong apartment on Tuesday night, police said. Kathu Police Duty Officer Jongserm Preecha identified the deceased as 62-year-old Jan Christer Hoglund, from Finland. Mr Hoglund’s body was discovered at around 11pm by his Thai wife, age 31. The woman told police she made the discovery after returning from Phuket City…
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Phuket celebrates Chulalongkorn Day
PHUKET CITY: Several hundred people this morning gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to mark Chulalongkorn Day. Led by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, the crowd placed a wreath around a portrait of the great monarch at the auspicious time of 9:09am. Many of those who took part were government officers. October 23, a national holiday in Thailand, is the anniversary of…
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Phuket wishes HM The King quick recovery
PHUKET CITY: More than 200,000 people in Phuket have signed a book wishing His Majesty the King a speedy recovery. According to the latest statement from the Royal Household Bureau, His Majesty’s condition is now stable. “His physical strength has increased. His sleep and food intake is normal,” the bureau announced yesterday. Doctors would continue to give antibiotics to His…
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Swine flu under control in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The head of the Phuket Public Health Office has downplayed a report in the state-run media that lists Phuket as one of seven provinces with high incidences of A(H1N1) infection. The figures are skewed because they don’t take into account the island’s large ‘hidden population’, he said. Phuket Public Health Office director Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said the total…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival schedule update
PHUKET: With the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in full swing, Phuket’s Chinese temples are packed with worshipers wearing white from early morning until late at night, and the surrounding roads are lined with meat-free food stalls, strung with yellow garlands and red lanterns. Below is the schedule of processions and other vegetarian festival related activities taking place at Phuket’s Chinese shrines…
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Phuket leads the south in A(H1N1) infection
PHUKET CITY: Phuket is among seven provinces in the country with the highest incidence of infection with the swine flu virus, the state-run Thai News Agency has reported. Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Paijit Worajit yesterday informed the press that there have been three more deaths from swine flu in Thailand, while the total number of fatalities rose to…
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Phuket strengthens ties with Russian sister
PHUKET CITY: A delegation from the Russian city of Nakhodka met the Phuket governor at Provincial Hall this afternoon as part of a bid to tighten the relationship between the two cities. Nakhodka and Phuket became sister cities in September 2006. First Vice-Mayor of Nakhodka Boris Gladkikh presented Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop with a commemorative plate as a gift from his…
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Deadline for Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2010 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 6pm on Thursday, November 12, to enter (or update) their listings. Businesses entered after that date will appear in the Gazette Guide Online only – not in the hard-copy book. Businesses who have entered or updated their listings over the past six months need do…
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Jet-skis under control: Phuket police
PATONG, PHUKET: A much-vaunted mandatory insurance scheme aimed at ending disputes between jet-ski operators and tourists in Phuket will be in place by November 16. But Patong’s top cop says: “We’ve already solved the problem.” Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark said the police have set up a committee of experts to adjudicate in disputes, deciding who should pay for any…
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Patong tunnel study details revealed
PHUKET CITY: The director of the consulting company undertaking a 40-million-baht feasibility study into construction of a tunnel to Patong has revealed more details about its initial findings. Tanin Pongrujikorn, Director of Epsilon Co Ltd, told the Gazette, “Patong Municipality, which initiated the project, invited six Thai consulting companies registered with the Ministry of Finance and with relevant experience to…
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Chinese acrobats to perform in Patong
PHUKET CITY: About 1,000 people who patiently braved the elements at Saphan Hin last night were treated to a stunning performance by one of the world’s top acrobatics troupes. The troupe, the 40-strong Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy, are in Phuket for two special performances coinciding with the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Last night’s show got underway well past the scheduled start…
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Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy in Phuket tonight
PHUKET CITY: One of the world’s most fascinating acrobatics troupes will perform a charity performance at Saphan Hin starting at 7pm. The 40-strong Beijing Acrobatics Fantasy perform a wide variety of acrobatic stunts. The troupe are currently in Phuket as part of a nationwide tour that has included stops in Bangkok and the Isarn region. In a recent nationally televised…
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Half a million expected for Phuket veg fest
PHUKET CITY: Half a million people are expected to attend this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival, bringing in around 33 million baht, a senior tourism official said. Wanaphapar Suksombul, Assistant Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phuket Office, said 80 percent of Phuket City’s hotel rooms have been booked up during the event, which officially started at midnight on Saturday.…
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Safe robbery dangerous for Phuket thieves
KATHU, PHUKET: Two bungling robbers broke their legs in a motorcycle crash while trying to drive home with a 25-kilogram safe they stole from a British expat’s house, police said. Jirawat Khongsuwan, 24, and Chanakarn Sukhumdecha, 22, deny taking the box from David Kelleway’s house at the Phuket Country Club in Kathu last Saturday. But Inspector Kittipong Kaikaew of Tung…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival Procession Routes
PHUKET: Following inaugural ceremonies in Phuket over the weekend to summon Chinese ancestral gods to take part in the island’s Vegetarian Festival, Phuket City’s Chinese temples are buzzing with activity and shrouded in the smoke from thousands of firecrackers and incense lit throughout the day.Now that those gods have taken up temporary residence on Phuket in the bodies of believers…
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Phuket Police rule out murder in Aussie tourist’s death
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police have been unable to track down and question two Thai women seen entering a hotel room with an Australian man who was found dead by hotel staff later the same day. Police Duty Officer Lt Weerapong Rakkhito identified the deceased as 45-year-old Australian national Brian Martin Hickey. Staff at the PS 2 Inn in central Patong…
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Phuket Police sweep the city clean for Vegetable Festival
PHUKET CITY: Phuket police swept the city last night in a final crime crackdown before the start of the annual Vegetarian Festival that officially starts at midnight tonight. Officers assembled in front of Phuket City Police Station at 6.30pm before fanning out and setting up police checkpoints at the following spots: In front of Muang Mai Motors on Thepkrasattri Road;…
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Phuket to stage ‘National Anthem Singing’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s iconic Phromthep Cape will be in the national spotlight on October 29 when a large crowd is expected to turn out for a nationally televised singing of the Thai National Anthem. The announcement that Phuket’s southernmost tip has been chosen for the event came at meeting chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.…
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Phuket contestants needed for PCF Race Day
PHUKET: Phuketians are invited to form teams to race rafts, dragon boats, kayaks and even cardboard boxes for the chance to win awards and prizes at the Phuket Community Foundation’s upcoming Race Day charity fundraiser.The day of family fun in and around the water will be held at Canal Village, Laguna Phuket on November 7, which still gives potential participants…
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Struggling Phuket families get homes of their own
SRISOONTHORN, PHUKET: A low-cost housing project opened in Thalang this week is set to become home to more than 400 low-income families. Loans from the Government Housing Bank have allowed many of the families to buy units in the latest ‘Eua Arthorn’ public housing project and become home owners for the first time. The 846-million-baht project covers 40 rai and…
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Protection plan launched for Phuket forests
PHUKET: In just six years, the rate of destruction of Phuket’s forests has almost quadrupled, figures from the Office of Natural Resources and the Environment show.In 2004, 66 rai of forest were destroyed in 15 recorded cases of land encroachment.This year has already seen 62 cases of land encroachment, with the destruction of 239 rai of forest.The stark figures were…
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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