Sukanya Wongdonma (centre), Financial Controller of Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya presents a bouquet to warmly welcome the soccer legend Manchester United Legends, Andy Cole (2nd left), Lee Sharpe (3rd left), Dennis Irwin (3rd right) and Clayton Blackmore (2nd right) on their visit the resort for “Meets & Greets the Manchester United Legends Charity Gala Dinner” at Mirage Grand Ballroom recently. In photo, Wuthisak Pichayagan (left), Executive Assistant Manager for Food & Beverage and George Kenton (right), Executive Assistant Manager for Rooms also join to welcome. Read more...

Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya invites you to join the “Mirage Bridal Show and Wedding Fair 2013 in Pattaya”. Read more...

PHUKET: A Chinese tourist bled to death after being severely cut by a speedboat propeller at Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon.

Chen Peng, 37, jumped from the boat when the engine was still on and the propeller moving, the speedboat’s owner, Chairang Weerakij, told police.

The propeller slashed Mr Chen’s legs and stomach. Read more...

Over 60% of economists polled recently consider corruption to be the country's most serious problem with serious economic implications, Bangkok Poll said on Thursday. Read more...

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand will pay farmers 20 percent less for rice to stem losses from a much-criticized subsidy program that dislodged the country from its spot as the world’s No. 1 exporter of the grain, a government minister said Wednesday. Cabinet minister Warathep Rattanakorn said the government will pay 12,000 baht ($389) per ton Read more...

PHUKET: Two men were stabbed in a fight at a live-music venue near Chalong Circle early this morning. One of the men died; the other is expected to recover from his wounds.Police have arrested one suspect and are searching for four more. Read more...

Police have stepped up measures to closely monitor teenagers from the South who are living in Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng area after investigation indicated that southern insurgents might be behind the May 26 bomb attack. Read more...

Myanmar has turned down Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul's plan to borrow a white elephant from Nay Pyi Taw to display in Chiang Mai zoo. A polite reply from the Myanmar government stated that it would be too difficult to transport the rare al... Read more...

Latest An Australian man has been fined 1000 baht after he complained about being woken by a council grass cutter and waved a gun in an effort to get more sleep. Read more...

News Analysis The sudden dip in the value of the Australian dollar will inevitably leave many people reconsidering the real cost of their trip to Phuket. It's at least 10 percent more expensive. Read more...

Latest Phuket's hospitals and health authorities have gone onto war footing as record numbers of cases of dengue fever occur, with three recent deaths triggering alarm. Read more...

Latest The contractor for the new Phuket airport to west coast beaches bus service says the buses will begin rolling in August, not July. Marketing has to be done first, he said. Read more...

Phuket News Digest Thailand and Phuket 'safe for Aussies'; Aussie dollar dives; Indonesia plans to halt Singapore's choke; Fraudster held on Phuket; Famous actor reported dead. Read more...

A group of 700 Vietnamese tourists were left to fend for themselves in Bangkok after a Vietnamese travel agent failed to pay its Thai partner for their transport and hotels. Read more...

Local investors were rattled earlier this month after Moody's Investors Service sounded a warning that the government's rice scheme was "credit-negative" due to high losses and negative effects on Thai rice exports. The Bangkok Post spoke with Moody's ... Read more...

A Thai woman together with her foreign boyfriend were robbed as they were walking back to their room in an isolated alley. The robbers used a long knife to threaten them. They were able to get away with over 14,000 THB together with important documents. Read more...

PATTAYA - June 19, 2013 [PDN]; At 03.00 AM, Police Captain Yongyut Whannua of Pattaya police station was informed that a group of Cambodian construction workers were having a fight at a construction workers camp in Pattaya Second Rd. After receiving th... Read more...

Pattaya police arrest a teenage couple who were selling drugs at Buakhao market, Central Pattaya. Read more...

PHUKET: Despite what the Director of the Department of Rural Roads Phuket office told the Phuket Gazette yesterday (story Read more...

PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an Outreach Visit at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Karon tomorrow, June 20.

Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide services on:

• Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,300 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,150 baht for a child’s passport).

• Notarial Services and Certified Copies (US$50 or 1,500 baht), includes income affidavits for retirees in Thailand. Read more...

Award Recognizes Highly Rated Hotels Through Traveler Reviews On The World’s Largest Travel Site   Stunning Horizon, Pattaya’s premier rooftop restaurant & bar at Hilton Pattaya   PATTAYA, Thailand – June 5, 2013 – Hilton Pattaya today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence for the third year in a row. The [...] Read more...

A group of 700 Vietnamese tourists were left to fend for themselves in Bangkok after a Vietnamese travel agent failed to pay its Thai partner for their transport and hotels. Read more...

BANGKOK, 19 June 2013: International tourist arrivals to Thailand posted a growth of 19.09%, January to May, this year, according to the latest Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data. Released late last week, the ministry’s research registered 10,688,133 trips during the first five months up from 8,974,610 visits during the same period last year. If [...] Read more...

Vasiliy Tubaev, a visitor from Russia, had a gun pointed at his head by a Thai man, in what appeared to be a misunderstanding over a Thai woman in Phuket. Read more...

BANGKOK, 19 June 2013: Kasikorn Research Centre estimates international tourist arrivals to Thailand this year will reach a record of 25.4 million visits and generate Bt1.14 trillion (+15.9%) in revenue on the back of a boom in Chinese and Russian travel. The centre said value-for-money will continue to be an important factor to lure foreign [...] Read more...

BANGKOK, 19 June 2013: Tourism Council of Thailand says the country should move ahead by adding new tourism products and building quality rather than concentrating on competition from neighbours. Tourism Council of Thailand president, Piyaman Techapaibun, said Thailand should not be preoccupied with competition, noting Myanmar had just released details of its first tourism master [...] Read more...

Latest A speedboat propeller killed a Chinese tourist on a day-trip from Phuket to Phi Phi. The second death of a Chinese tourist within 48 hours is likely to trigger a reaction from ''safety first'' envoys. Read more...

PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) has confirmed that the stingers found washed ashore at Surin Beach this week are bluebottles, also known as Portuguese man o’ war.

The stingers found so far are juveniles, reported Phuket Gazette reader Daren Jenner.

“The presence of these bluebottles on the west coast started about five days ago with the onset of strong southwest monsoon winds blowing them in from the Indian Ocean,” he said. Read more...

PHUKET: The Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, Jonathan Kenna, yesterday placed the carrying of weapons on the streets of Phuket into the spotlight at a meeting with the Phuket Governor.

“I told the governor that the safety of the tourist is the most important issue,” Mr Kenna, speaking in Thai, told the press following a closed-door meeting with Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this morning.

“Governor Maitri and the Australian Embassy agree that we need to work together to protect the life and property of Australian expats and tourists during their stay in Phuket,” he added. Read more...

Latest Phuket history was made today as final official approval was given for the Phuket airport to beaches bus service to roll to Patong soon. Getting to Kata-Karon will take a little longer. Read more...

Latest Phuket history was made today as final official approval was given for the Phuket airport to beaches bus service to roll to Patong any day now. Getting to Kata-Karon will take a little longer. Read more...

Latest Krabi says it has been voted by TripAdvisor users as Thailand's best beach destination, turning the tables - or at least the umbrellas and loungers - on its old rival, Phuket. Read more...

Pattaya’s tourist boom in the last two years has led to many optimistic claims about the future.  City Hall has suggested that Pattaya will become the Thai Riviera, to rival the French version, whilst investors have predicted the resort will be the film-making capital of Southeast Asia or an entertainment centre to put Disney World [...] Read more...

Sophon Cable TV held a thank-you party for subscribers at Central Festival Pattaya Beach and awarded gifts ranging from a round-trip holiday for two in Singapore, to motorbikes and the latest-generation iPhones and iPads.  Ratkit Hengtrakul and Suwat Ratchawattanakul represented the company; the event was opened by Ronnakit Ekasign, Pattaya deputy mayor. Read more...

Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Bangkok celebrates the first anniversary of its Social Hour and the global roll-out of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts’ signature wine program. More than 100 guests were on hand for the festivities including (from left): Graham Brooke, hotel director of Food & Beverage; Keith Hardie, hotel general manager; Khunying [...] Read more...

Benihanas has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding reviews on TripAdvisor.  Benihana,  on the second floor of Royal Garden Plaza, is the Japanese steakhouse  famous for the entertaining and culinary skills of their chefs as they prepare Teppanyaki at customers’ [...] Read more...

Latest A French couple arrested by Phuket Immigration officials and fined for their honesty are ''outraged'' at the latest claims. They want to know if other passengers suffered the same treatment. Read more...

The Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (Exat) board has approved a proposal to raise tolls on Bangkok's urban and suburban expressways by at least five baht. Read more...

Contradictory reports from South that suspect was tied to an insurgent group. Read more...

The Royal Thai Police revealed that Songkhla ranked fourth in terms of the number of areas most at risk of human-trafficking crimes at 642, after Bangkok's 1,108, Chumphon's 997 and Prachuap Khiri Khan's 848 locations. Read more...

The Foreign Ministry has called back a female Thai diplomat who allegedly assaulted an Egyptian woman at a Cairo hotel - as a precaution for her safety, after she was reported to have been threatened. Read more...

The world soccer-governing body Fifa has threatened to suspend Thailand's membership unless Thai club Pattaya FC withdraws a lawsuit that brought about the cancellation of a Football Association of Thailand (FAT) meeting at the weekend. Read more...

PHOTO ALBUM An argument during a birthday party at a country music club on Phuket leads to a fight and the knifing to death of one man and the stabbing on another. Read more...

Latest Taxi and tuk-tuk drivers on Phuket - notorious for extortionate fares - could be dressed in neat uniforms and have hospitality lessons for the Beach Games 2014, says Phuket's governor. Read more...

The SET-listed KCE Electronics Plc, one of the largest printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers in Southeast Asia, plans to more than double its production capacity by building a 4.67-billion-baht factory in Bangkok's Lat Krabang district. Read more...

Phuket News UPDATE British man ''pushed to death in Bangkok by Brit'; Thailand rice bill of $4.46 billion; Taliban in peace talks; Budget airline blasted; Phuket property upbeat; Aussies in World Cup. Read more...