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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Phuket Police promise peace in Patong
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police and supporting organizations held a ceremony on Soi Bangla last night that included a brief photo shoot with tourists, assuring them that their safety is a top concern. Activities started at 7pm in front of the Baan Sukhothai Hotel & Spa on Soi Bangla. The large ceremony was presided over by Phuket Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul.…
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Phuket’s Kajonkietsuksa School signs MOU with PSU Wittayanusorn
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Kajonkietsuksa School has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Prince of Songkla University’s (PSU’s) Wittayanusorn School in Haad Yai, one of the top secondary schools in Southern Thailand. Phuket Vice Governor Teerayuth Eimtrakul was guest of honor at the signing ceremony, which took place at the Royal Phuket City Hotel late Friday afternoon Signing the…
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Phuket’s Happy Air launches Langkawi flights
PHUKET CITY: New regional airline Happy Air on Saturday launched its three-times-weekly flights from Phuket to Malaysia’s duty-free island of Langkawi. The service, which takes 40 minutes, is aboard a Swedish-built SAAB 340A aircraft. The 34-seat, twin-engine turboprop plane will be manned by two cabin crew per flight. The Happy Air marketing team told a press conference at the The…
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Patong motorbike taxi drivers get free helmets
PATONG, PHUKET: Hoping to improve both safety standards and their public image, scores of blue-vested motorbike taxi drivers on Saturday took part in a training project and received free safety helmets. The initiative is part of a road safety and crime prevention campaign created by Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark. At 1 pm on Saturday, about 400 members of the…
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New tsunami buoy deployed off Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s tsunami direct detection buoy has been successfully replaced and the new unit began transmitting data via satellite at 9:15am Thursday morning.Staff of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) and technical experts from the US who conducted the mission returned aboard MV Seafdec at 8am yesterday, as planned.NDWC Director Viriya Mongkolveerapan told the Gazette the old unit will be…
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PTT expands search for liquid gold off Phuket
PHUKET: PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) will continue its search for oil and natural gas reserves off Thailand’s Andaman Coast, with the possibility of drilling as early as 2013, a company project manager told the Phuket Governor on Thursday.PTTEP project manager Bandit Chaisilboon, responsible for three concession areas (A4/48, A5/48 and A6/48) off the Andaman Coast, said PTTEP has…
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OPINION: Tuk-tuks clearly a bane to Phuket tourism
PHUKET: The past week saw the launch of the Gazette’s new readers’ forum that allows readers to post their comments on news stories. The interactive feature was an instant hit, with more than 120 comments in three days on a single story: the demand by a group of tuk-tuk drivers for a bigger slice of the transport pie at a…
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Englishman dies in Phuket boating accident
CHALONG, PHUKET: An Englishman died yesterday after the catamaran he was sailing in with two friends capsized off Koh Hei.Chalong police identified the deceased as UK national Kevin Corrigan, a retired former employee of AIG Insurance.One of the survivors, 67-year-old English expat Bill Dobbs, told the Gazette that he and Mr Corrigan left Chalong Bay in the catamaran owned by…
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Phuket – Udon Thani flights start Monday
PHUKET CITY: Thai AirAsia will launch a new direct flight service connecting Phuket and the Isarn town of Udon Thani on Monday, December 21. The new service, with a 1 hour and 40 minute flight time, will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapol Bijleveld said “Udon Thani is in the central part of the Northeast…
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Phuket Sea Gypsies face lawsuit, possible eviction
RAWAI, PHUKET: Thirteen Moken sea gypsy families are being threatened with eviction after a businessman bought the title for the land their homes are built on. The families claim they occupied the land before the chanote land title was issued. The owner of the 2.7 rai plot of land in Rawai Village 2 has applied to the Phuket Provincial Court…
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Krabi motorbike monk seeks media justice
PHUKET CITY: A monk from Krabi made his way to the Phuket press club office yesterday in an effort to clear his name following a newspaper report that he was breaking the monk’s code of conduct by using a motorbike instead of walking during his morning alms collection. A photo of Phra Tossaponchana Kommasutho of Wat Tamtheppratan in the Muang…
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Phuket lifeguards seek back pay from PPAO
PHUKET CITY: Fifty former members of the provincial beach guard gathered at the offices of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) yesterday morning to protest over non-payment of two months’ salary. The guards, led by Kamala Beach head lifeguard Tawee Sariya, were met by PPAO Vice President Chawalit Na Nakorn at about 11:30am. The guards complained that all 67 members…
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Phuket Gov seeks end to Darasamuth Road impasse
WICHIT, PHUKET: A poor family with no place else to go is the only thing holding up government plans to complete a road project that could reduce traffic congestion on the bypass road at the Darasamuth School Intersection. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall Tuesday afternoon to discuss the impasse. The 550-meter-long road starts just…
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Phuket’s ‘Golden Boy’ back in town
PHUKET CITY: Satree Phuket student Peerasak Sae-eung returned to Phuket yesterday as the island’s first-ever gold medal winner at the International Junior Science Olympiad in Azerbaijan. A crowd was on hand at Phuket International Airport to congratulate him on his victory, which took place earlier this month. Later the same day, he returned to his school where he told reporters,…
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Royal Project outlet shop opens in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: Phuket residents can help improve the lives of some of Thailand’s poorest citizens by purchasing products from ‘Thung Ngern Thung Thong’, a new store that opened in Phuket City on Saturday. Thung Ngern Thung Thong, which translates as ‘bag of silver, bag of gold’, is the first-ever store in Phuket with permission from the Office of the Royal…
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Water truck crashes in Kata
KATA, PHUKET: A six-wheel water tanker owned by the Diamond Cottage Resort and Spa yesterday rolled about 10 meters downhill on Patak Rd, crashing into two nearby shops in Kata Center and damaging their front canopies. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Staff at the hotel said the tanker was pumping water into the hotel at about 3:30pm when the handbrake…
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Phuket tsunami memorial services announced
PHUKET CITY: Memorial services marking the fifth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami disaster will take place on December 26 at locations in Patong, Mai Khao and Kamala. In Patong, a religious ceremony will take place at Loma Park on Patong Beach from 8am to 12pm, and again in the evening from 6pm to 7pm. In Mai Khao, similar ceremonies will…
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Man drowns in Phuket tin mining pond
KATHU, PHUKET: An unemployed former monk died of apparent drowning in a tin mining pond opposite Kathu Temple yesterday.The deceased was identified by his Thai ID card as 59-year-old Sa-ngiam Sompanpaing, a resident of Srisaket province.His friend and regular fishing partner Thiti Srinakuang, 59, said the pair regularly cast fishing nets into the pond.After arriving at the pond around noon…
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Phuket seeks highest minimum wage in Thailand
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Labor Office has requested a daily minimum wage increase of nine baht for Phuket workers, which, if approved in full, would give the province the highest minimum wage rate in the country. Labor committees in 70 of Thailand’s 76 provinces have submitted proposals to the Labor Department requesting minimum wage increases of between one and nine…
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Year-end celebration of local Phuket life
PHUKET: Old Phuket Town will be strung with lights and festive decorations for the fourth annual ‘Local Life Festival’ on the last Sunday of December, giving Phuketians young and old, a taste of yesteryear.From 6:30pm until 11pm on December 27, all are invited to wander through Soi Romanee and Thalang Road to take in the sights, sounds and smells of…
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Phuket tsunami protection upgrade due by Saturday
PHUKET: A new tsunami detection buoy is on the way to replace the old one located 600 nautical miles northwest of Phuket. The new buoy, along with the Director of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) and specialists from the US, set off from Cape Panwa aboard the Royal Thai Navy vessel MV Seafdec at 0800 today. The 47-million-baht detection…
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Drowning confirmed as cause of Russian tourist death
PHUKET: Autopsy results have confirmed drowning as the cause of death of Russian tourist Andrey Khabrin, who appeared to suffer a seizure after swimming at Kata Beach on Saturday morning. Mr Khabrin, 37, fainted after swimming in front of the Kata Beach Resort, where he, his wife and a cousin were staying on holiday. After he lost consciousness, he was…
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Phuket rescue effort fails to save dolphin
PHUKET CITY: A Risso’s dolphin that washed ashore in Chalong on Friday night and later died, might have been suffering from exhaustion due to giving birth, researchers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) think. Residents of the Khok Tanode community in Chalong Village 9 initially reported two stranded dolphins at Haad Son (Pine Beach) to the PMBC’s Marine Endangered…
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Satree Phuket boy grabs gold at science olympiad
PHUKET CITY: Satree Phuket student Peerasak Sae-eung was among Thailand’s three gold medal winners at the the sixth International Junior Science Olympiad (6th IJSO) in Azerbaijan from December 2 to 11. Another three Thai contestants took silver medals in what proved to be the country’s best-ever medal haul at the Olympiad, which this year had 258 competitors from 49 countries.…
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Trio bags Annual Phuket Community Service Award
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette’s ‘Person of the Year Award’ for 2009 was abruptly forced into the plural ten days ago with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to curtail Phuket’s extravagant use of plastic bags. Our award is thus presented to the three driving forces behind that project: Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the Phuket Provincial…
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Phuket taxi drivers demand fare share
KARON, PHUKET: A group of Phuket taxi operators has demanded a ‘fair share’ of the tourists transported between a Karon hotel and local tour destinations. The demands follow a complaint from Centara Karon Resort that heated arguments at the hotel between taxi drivers and tour company representatives have scared off tourists and threatened to ‘tarnish Phuket’s image’ as a tourist…
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Health workers gear up for swine flu spread
PHUKET CITY: The Department of Disease Control is gearing up for a re-emergence of the A(H1N1) virus that causes swine flu.Mrs Sirilak Thaijaroern, director of the Department of Disease Control (DDC) Region 11 Office in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, said the number of new cases of A(H1N1) is increasing nationwide with the arrival of the cool season.To fight the spread of…
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Kathu police keep tabs on ladyboys
PATONG, PHUKET: A ‘ladyboy’ registration plan that went into effect in October has been hailed a success by Patong’s top cop, with a drop in the number of crime cases committed by members of Patong’s transgender community. The registration plan was established last October following concerns that US military servicemen on leave in Phuket might fall prey to gangs of…
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Jetstar Asia announces Phuket “daily double’
PHUKET CITY: Jetstar Asia Airways held a press conference on Tuesday to announce a second daily flight on its Singapore – Phuket route starting on December 15. The Singapore-based low-cost carrier will also increase weekend flights to the island and increase the number of flights on its Sydney – Phuket route from three to five per week. The increases will…
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Racha Yai residents protest new resort development
PHUKET CITY: More than 100 villagers from Koh Racha Yai gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday to protest a new resort development they claim is disrupting their way of life and destroying the environment. The protesters, led by Chakrit Chandee of the Koh Racha Environmental Conservation and Protection Association, handed a letter to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop outlining their…
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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