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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B5.25bn set aside to revive tourism
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Cabinet yesterday approved a 5.25-billion-baht budget to carrying out projects to revive tourism in the six Andaman-coast provinces hit by tsunami, after cutting the down the proposed figures by 4.11 billion baht.Government Spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said the Cabinet approved a budget of 2.651 billion baht from the normal budget for the 2005 fiscal year for projects…
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US seamen aid cleanup
PHUKET: The United States Ambassador to Thailand, Ralph Boyce, was in Phuket yesterday visiting sailors from the US Navy who were helping in the post-tsunami clean-up.Some of the 1,200 sailors, in Kamala for three days to clear wrecked buildings and other debris, joined Ambassador Boyce in delivering to Thai students food, clothes, books and cards made by American schoolchildren.Ambassador Boyce…
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Progress in tsunami fund theft case
PHUKET: Phuket City Police say they have promising leads relating to the apparent theft of more than 2 million baht in government tsunami relief funds, and expect to make an arrest soon.The funds were reported missing on February 15 by Metha Mekarat, Head of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), who said 2.05 million baht had gone…
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Princess delivers inspiration
PATONG: HRH Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya visited Loma Park in Patong on yesterday to offer gifts and moral support to young survivors of the December 26 tsunami disaster. The Princess, dressed in black, arrived at the beach-side park at 5 pm, accompanied by Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan. There to greet them was Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, Patong Mayor Pian Keesin…
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OrBorJor spends B8m on tsunami victims
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) spent 8.7 million baht between January 15 and February 21 on helping Phuket’s tsunami victims, OrBorJor president Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr disclosed.K. Anchalee said the OrBorJor had funded 89 cremations at 3,000 baht each, and given 5,000 baht apiece to 36 children who had lost parents.A total of 3,268,590 baht has been used to make…
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Patong “building site’ deters tour companies
PHUKET: Travel agents are still reluctant to send tourists to Phuket because property damaged by the tsunami has not yet been repaired, yesterday’s Patong renovation progress meeting heard.Pattanapong Aikvanich, the President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), said discussions with tour companies and journalists from countries such as Germany, Australia and Sweden had revealed the feeling that tourists would not…
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Five “tigers’ to expedite Patong plan
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has appointed a committee of five “tigers” to speed up the implementation of the recovery plan for Patong Beach.The committee will be chaired by Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit, who will be joined by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin; Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa; Kathu Police Station Superintendent Pol Lt Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, and Phuket Tourist Association President Pattanapong…
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British arts minister pays respects
MAI KHAO: British Arts Minister Estelle Morris today became the latest member of a foreign government to pay respects to the tsunami dead.Ms Morris, accompanied by senior British police office Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Bracker, visited the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) centre at Mai Khao, where she laid a wreath at the international wall of remembrance and observed a minute’s…
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Authorities prepare to move Yan Yao bodies
PHANG NGA: The stench from the 1,000-plus corpses of tsunami victims being held at Wat Yan Yao now permeates the temple and the area around it, and local people are too scared to enter the wat to make merit.Authorities are therefore planning to move the bodies to the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Center (TTVI), in Mai Khao, Phuket.However, Phang Nga…
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Anzac invasion
PATONG: Almost 60 days after the tsunami hit, the first large group of Australian and New Zealand tourists arrived in Phuket this morning aboard a Star Cruise ship.Among those on hand to greet the 1,800 visitors were Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Region 4 Director Suwalai Pinpradab, Phuket Tourist Authority President Pattanapong Aikwanich and a contingent of students from Patong…
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Festival to give Andaman coast a boost
PATONG (The Nation): Music, sports, a swimwear fashion show and even a bodybuilding contest will be among the highlights of a project to help restore international tourists’ confidence in the Andaman coast provinces.The “Loving Andaman” campaign, organized jointly by Thai Airways International (THAI), the Office of the Supreme Commander and the UBC Group, will also include a damage survey, and…
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Mob blocks road in rent protest
SAPAM: More than 200 people blocked Thepkrasattri Rd for half an hour yesterday evening as they protested against plans to make them pay rent on the land where they have lived for 15 years.The rally was sparked by a February 17 visit to Moo 3, Tambon Koh Keaw by city officers, who told the residents they must now pay rent…
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Patong Mayor ordered to get a move on
PATONG: Phuket Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit yesterday ordered Patong Mayor Pian Keesin to pick up the pace in carrying out orders to make Patong Beach more orderly, remarking that the Patong beachfront area appears to be slipping back into pre-tsunami chaos.The order came during a meeting of a special committee set up to oversee the redevelopment of Patong Beach in line…
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Ex-presidents stress local approach to recovery
THALANG: Projects to rebuild tsunami-ravaged areas should be “locally-driven” former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr declared after touring parts of Phuket and Phang Nga at the weekend.Thailand was the first stop in a four-country tour by the ex-presidents, aimed at encouraging private and corporate donors – particularly in the United States – to continue giving to the…
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Four corpse containers “malfunctioning’
PHANG NGA: Four cold-storage containers housing the unidentified bodies of tsunami victims are malfunctioning, causing rapid decomposition of the corpses within and spreading a gruesome stench in the areas where they are located.Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsab, head of of Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Centre (TTVI), said the problem freezers are at Wat Yan Yao and Wat Bang Muang in Phang…
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King of Sweden thanks Thais
PHUKET CITY: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited Phuket Provincial Hall this morning as part of a state visit to Thailand to thank the Thai people for their efforts in the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami. The royal couple, accompanied by Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiat Sathirathai, were greeted by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and a…
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338 bodies sent home from Mai Khao
PHUKET: A total of 338 tsunami victims buried temporarily at Mai Khao Cemetery have been identified and returned to their families.Thai Tsunami Victim Indentification Centre (TTVI) head Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsab says he expects all 1,890 bodies at Mai Khao to be identified within three or four months.All but two of the bodies identified so far were foreigners, said Gen…
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Clinton, Bush Snr to tour tsunami damage
PHUKET: US former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton will arrive in Phuket on Saturday as part of a US presidential delegation to inspect tsunami-affected areas throughout Asia.They will arrive at Phuket International Airport at 11:55 am, to be welcomed by Khunying Pojamarn Shinawatra, the wife of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.The former heads…
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Divers break world record off Koh Tao
SURAT THANI: More than 720 people from at least 35 countries have set a world record for the most divers diving simultaneously off Koh Tao, as part of the Koh Tao Underwater Day festival.The event was held to promote awareness of how global climate change is slowly killing coral and to mark the coming into effect today of the Kyoto…
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Swedish royals to visit Phuket, Phang Nga
PHUKET: Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will arrive in Phuket on Friday for a tour of the island and Phang Nga.Their plane will arrive at 9:30 am at Phuket International Airport, and the royal couple will be received at Phuket Provincial Hall by Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and representatives of the Thai government, before visiting the Bangkok Phuket…
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THAI defends decision to cut flights
PHUKET: National carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) has defended its decision to axe a number of flights to Phuket in the wake of the tsunami, including all direct international services.Kalayapha Panich, the Phuket-based District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, told the Gazette that the company had decided it could not continue to operate routes at a loss.“So few passengers currently…
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Tsunami family in plea for help
PHUKET: The family and friends of a Finnish man and his son who were listed on an official website as having survived the tsunami, but who have not returned home, have appealed for help in finding out what has happened to them. Michael Gustafsson and his nine-year-old son Alexander were posted as “Swedish” and “Go Home” on the Phuket City…
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Bypass road to close for construction
PHUKET CITY: Parts of the bypass road (Chalermprakiat Ror IX Rd) will be closed for two afternoons a week until April because of construction work.Phuket Provincial Highways Office Chief Thanit Sakiya announced today that traffic will be barred from various parts of the road between 1 pm and 3 pm on Mondays and Thursdays until the first week in April.…
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Crime rate rising after tsunami
PHUKET CITY: Police are reporting a surge in crime brought about by the downturn in the tourism industry following the tsunami disaster, and are advising people to take extra precautions to protect themselves against opportunistic thieves.In a press release issued by the Phuket City Police, Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin said there has been an increase in home and office…
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Hit me with your rhythm stick
PATONG: Tourists on Soi Bangla enjoyed a live concert by the Harvey Thompson Jazz Band and the Waikado Yamato Drummers Sunday night.The show was organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as part of its ongoing efforts to revive Phuket tourism in the aftermath of the tsunami.The Detroit-based baritone, accompanied by saxophonist Paul Fleischer, performed a number of songs…
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Tourists “expect big discounts’ after tsunami
LAGUNA: Thailand used to be the most popular destination for customers of the Thomas Cook company, but the country has “slipped” because of the tsunami, Joanna Edmunds, Managing Director of Thomas Cook Signature, told local tourism operators yesterday.The immediate solution, she said, will be to offer “very, very attractive prices”.She warned the meeting, at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, that…
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Tsunami risk areas being mapped
PHUKET: A map of the areas of the Andaman coast most likely to be hit by flooding resulting from any future tsunami will be ready in March, Pipob Wasuwanich, the Deputy Director of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), said yesterday.Speaking at a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, K. Pipob said that the map will also indicate “escape…
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Busy day for Cupid
PHUKET: Valentine’s Day has been especially romantic for 231 Phuket couples – they got married today.Sirinee Leelanont, chief administrator of Phuket Town District Office said 159 couples registered their marriages today between 8am and 4pm, 19 more than during the same period last year.“The atmosphere today was very happy, every couple was smiling,” said Palad Sirinee. “Some brides were pregnant,…
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Finnish tourists back in Phuket
PHUKET: Starting today, tour operators bringing tourists from Finland to Phuket expect to be running three charter flights a week until April, although the number of vacationers will be only half what they would have been if there had been no tsunami.A spokesman for Royal Andaman Travel Group, the local partner of travel company Star Tour, said that around 230…
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Businesses back on Patong Beach – for now
PATONG: Owners of small businesses will be allowed to return to Patong Beach, but only until the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) “improvement” plan is implemented, Kathu District Chief Officer Kantee Sinlapa has stressed.K. Kantee said the temporary reprieve applies to businesses such as beach umbrella renters, jet-ski operators, vehicle rental firms and drinks vendors.But, he warned, “When we get…
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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