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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Tourists tell of their tidal wave ordeal
PHUKET: Swedish tourist Kjell Sköld, of Gothenburg, has described how the rising waters of the wave trapped him, his wife Bibi, and their young children in their bungalow at Andaman Bay Resort, at Bang Tao.“The water went out then came back in very, very quickly, taking everything with it,” said Mr Sköld. “When the water came into the bungalow, we…
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Tidal wave toll rises
PHUKET: An unconfirmed 22 people have died and more than 1,000 have sought refuge at the Phuket Provincial Office in Phuket City after Phuket’s coast was swamped by a tidal wave caused by an earthquake off Sumatra this morning.Waters off Phuket surged onto land, washing away homes on the east coast and causing damage at resorts all along the west coast.The Gazette…
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Phuket coast swamped after Sumatra earthquake
PHUKET: Emergency response units have been scrambled after waters off Phuket surged onto land this morning, washing away homes on the east coast and causing damage at resorts all along the west coast.The sea rose after tremors from an earthquake just before 7 am off Sumatra, Indonesia, that measured 8.1 on the Richter scale.At 11 am, Phuket International Hospital confirmed…
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Aids awareness campaign launched
PATONG: Over 30 people attended the launch of the “Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Project”, an Aids awareness campaign aimed at increasing condom use among male sex workers in Patong.The seminar, held at Patong Hospital yesterday morning, was organized jointly by gay advocacy group the Rainbow Sky Organization of Thailand and Thai Red Cross Aids Research Center.The main…
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Police to boost water safety
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police will be put on 24-hour patrol over the holidays in order to ensure the safety of tour boats, respond to distress calls and thwart any terrorist incursions.The announcement came at a press conference yesterday at the office of the Phuket Marine Police Office at Saphan Hin. Pol Maj Gen Ronnarong Youngyuen, Deputy Commissioner of the…
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Finn drowns at Karon
KARON: A Finnish national drowned off Karon Beach yesterday afternoon.Raikka Ohhi Veikko, 69, was pulled from the water by officers of the Phuket Marine Police and the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Patong Hospital.An officer working at the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center, who declined to give his name, said it was believed that…
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Panwa aquarium “to re-open in time for Songkran’
CAPE PANWA: Following Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on Monday announcing that a private aquarium may be built at Surin Beach, Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) director Wannakiat Thubthimsang today told the Gazette that the PMBC aquarium will be open in time for the Songkran holiday period in April 2005.The PMBC aquarium closed more than two years ago for renovations. The work…
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Road carnage continues
PHUKET: Official figures for the year to November 20 show that 151 people on motorcycles, 17 more in cars and one unlucky pedestrian have died in accidents on Phuket roads.Despite the high total of 169 deaths so far, the figures are an improvement on those for the same period in 2003, when 176 people died in accidents, 165 of them…
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Governor’s last chance for Ao Phuket approval
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura is to make a last-ditch attempt to persuade the Cabinet to approve the Ao Phuket development project before Parliament is dissolved for February’s general election.The proposed development concerns more than 3,200 rai of land and a budget of more than 63 billion baht. It would include a convention center, hotels, apartments, shopping centers, entertainment facilities,…
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Phuket aquarium gets new lease of life
THALANG: Representatives of the Phuket Sea Shell Co met Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday to seek his support for the plan to build an aquarium on a 120-rai site near Surin Beach.The island’s sole aquarium, at Ao Makham and run by Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), closed more than two years ago for renovations, which were supposed to take a year…
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“Target’ Phuket to receive more anti-terrorism equipment
PHUKET CITY: Phuket is to receive two “bomb blankets” worth 500,000 baht each from the US Embassy, to use in the event of a suspected terrorist attack.The blankets would be placed over suspected bombs to catch shrapnel and fragments in the event of an explosion.The blankets are due to be handed over to Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on December 27 by…
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Two surrender over vicious attack
CHALONG: Two people accused of being involved in the death of Koh Racha Yai restaurateur Dern Wora-ngon and the beating of his nephew, Jantree Mahanwongpan, have handed themselves in at Chalong Police Station.K. Dern and K. Jantree were ambushed by a man and two teenagers at Bangkhontee Beach in Rawai early in the afternoon of December 10. K. Jantree escaped…
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Phuket’s business boom continues
PHUKET: The number of new businesses registered on Phuket so far this year has increased by nearly 50% over the number for the same period last year, according to statistics from the Phuket Provincial Business Development Office (PBDO).Yongyuth Kasetsuntorn, head of the the PBDO, told the Gazette that 1,452 new limited partnerships and limited companies were registered from January 1 to…
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No early closing on New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: Entertainment venues will be allowed to stay open until 6 am on New Year’s morning, the Deputy Secretary of Phuket Provincial Administration Office, Wisut Romin, has told the Gazette.During the latter part of this year, nighttime venues have been the focus of a battle between the government, which has commanded them to close at midnight or 1 am, and…
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Minimum wage set to rise
PHUKET: Phuket’s lowest-paid workers could be in line to receive a New Year present – of an increase in the minimum wage of five baht a day.The Chief of the Provincial Labor Protection and Welfare Office, Patom Phetmanee, told the Gazette today it was likely that the minimum wage in Phuket will rise on January 1, from 168 baht a…
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Law-breaking vendors put “on notice’
PHUKET: Undercover inspectors are visiting shops and stores to check that they are not selling alcohol outside the permitted times or alcohol and cigarettes to minors, Wisut Romin, the Deputy Secretary of Phuket Provincial Administration Office, has told the Gazette.Said K. Wisut, “The 253rd declaration of 1972 Revolutionary Council states that shops having liquor licenses are allowed to sell alcohol…
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TAT to celebrate B300m high-season bonanza
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects no less than 300 million baht to be injected into the Phuket economy over the upcoming holiday period from December 23 to January 2.TAT Region 4 Director Suwalai Pinpradab told the Gazette today that a recent check of hotel occupancy rates and advanced bookings indicates that most island hotels will be fully-booked,…
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Trees felled at Nai Harn “to improve the view’
NAI HARN: As the high season gets into full swing, trees around Nai Harn Lake have been felled in a project to “improve the view” around the tidal lake.The narrow grassy area around the lake has already been dug up and tons of rock are being dumped to strengthen the banks.Local residents have been disturbed to see brown earth from…
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Patong Tower auction “a big success’
PATONG: A total of 55 units were sold in Sunday’s auction of apartments in the 32-story Patong Tower. Around 500 people turned up to bid in the auction, held at the Patong Resort Hotel.On the block were 61 one-bedroom apartments, seven two-bedroom apartments, seven three-bedroom apartments and five four-bedroom penthouses.The media were barred from the auction and the Tower’s owner,…
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Fingerprint clue in tourist’s murder
PATONG : Police are to compare a fingerprint thought to belong to the murderer of a 61-year-old Swiss tourist with prints of the staff of the hotel where she was staying.Jeanette Sager was found dead in room 208 of the Horizon Beach Resort Hotel on December 7. Police believe she was killed when she returned from the hotel pool and…
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“Burmese Cemetery’ claims another victim
PHUKET CITY: Another murder victim was found floating in the murky waters of Rassada Port yesterday morning.Staff of the Por Pichai raft called police after finding the body floating in the sea close to the raft.Pol Lt Col Tiwakorn Kongpeth, of Phuket City Police Station, said the man – believed to be Burmese and between 20 and 25 years old…
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Democrats, TRT in slanging match
THALANG: Senior figures from Thailand’s two main parties went head-to-head at a fund-raiser for youth education at Baan Nanai yesterday.Surin Pitsuwan, Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party and a former Foreign Minister, made a speech in which he charged the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party with “buying” a former Democrat Party MP representing a province near Phuket.The MP has announced…
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Mystery surrounds Briton’s death
PHUKET: Mystery surrounds the death of Briton Stephen Harris, leaving his family saddened and confused. Mr Harris’s body was was discovered at the Monte Carlo Hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd on October 29. (See Gazette Online story here.) At that time Pol Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that an initial inspection by a…
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Senator calls for Laguna buildings to be demolished
PHUKET: A new land row is brewing at Laguna after the head of the national Land Inspection Working Group called for a toilet to be demolished, claiming it is built on state land.Speaking after a meeting of 14 local officials, Senator Pricha Pitanon backed local land officers’ claims that the toilet, plus another building covering just four square metres, stand…
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King’s Cup final day set to be a cracker
KATA: Hopes are riding high for the steady north-easterly wind, today averaging about 16 knots, to continue for the final race in the King’s Cup Regatta tomorrow, which will be a critical factor in determining who will be this year’s winner.While the top three in nearly all race classes are within a few points of each other in the overall…
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Khao Kat Tower viewpoint opens
AO MAKHAM: Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit today presided over the reopening ceremony of Khao Khat Tower, which affords visitors a dramatic 360-degree view of the coastline and islands in Phuket Bay.Work on the tower, a restaurant, a parking lot, several shops and landscaped gardens was carried out by the Wichit Tambon Administration Organization, as part of a 24-million-baht provincial development budget…
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The beach party’s over
PHUKET: Vice-Governor Vinai Buapradit has ordered officials to take action tomorrow to prevent drunken youths and tourists “swarming” onto beaches when entertainment venues close at 1am.“People have complained to the provincial office about the disturbance caused by tourists and youths drinking and dancing on the beaches after the bars have closed,” said the Vice-Governor. “People who live near the beaches…
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Hi Fidelity edges ahead in King’s Cup
KATA: Winds were a steady 20 knots yet, apart from some moderate chop beyond Koh Racha, the seas were calm for some swift sailing in the King’s Cup Regatta today.Neil Pryde’s Hi Fidelity today finished just 44 seconds ahead of Peter Ahern’s Yo! to take the lead in the Racing class by a single point.As tomorrow will be a rest…
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Yo!, High Fidelity neck-and-neck
KATA: Gray skies and lighter winds marked the second day of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, but the fleet still found enough breeze for the Racing Class to complete three races, leaving Peter Ahern’s Yo! and Neil Pryde’s Hi Fidelity level on overall points, with eight apiece.Meanwhile, the Pla Loma crew member injured in yesterday’s race collision, Sandra Rosewane Lee,…
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Parliamentary candidate engaged
PHUKET: Dr Sriyada Palimapan, due to stand as the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) candidate for Phuket District 1 in next year’s general election, was quietly engaged to Saravuth Shinawatra last Friday in Chiang Mai, the Gazette has learned.Her fiancé – a businessman – is cousin to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Close friends and immediate family only were invited to the ceremony.…
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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