Situation Update: This Week's Weather Events
23 January 2026
Statement from Oscar Nathan, General Manager, Tourism Bay of Plenty
We express our deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones of the people who are still unaccounted for at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.
Mauao (Mount Maunganui) is our most iconic landmark, treasured by mana whenua, locals, and visitors alike for generations. We are sincerely grateful to the emergency services and response teams for their tireless and ongoing efforts during this extremely challenging time.
As a result of this event, Mauao, the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, and the Mount Hot Pools are closed until further notice.
The past few days have also been difficult for the wider region, with several other Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty locations and businesses being impacted by this week’s extreme rainfall and its aftermath. We acknowledge the two tragic deaths caused by a landslide on private land in Welcome Bay.
Our team is actively working to understand and respond to the implications of this weather event for visitors who are currently in the region, as well as for those with upcoming travel plans. Given that the situation is continuing to evolve, we’d encourage visitors to regularly check official information channels such as:
- New Zealand Transport Agency (for any road closures) journeys.nzta.govt.nz/journey-planner
- Bay of Plenty Emergency Management (Civil Defence) bopcivildefence.govt.nz or www.facebook.com/BOPCivilDefence
- Bay of Plenty isite visitor information centres bayofplentynz.com/contact-us/visitor-information-centres
- Tourism Bay of Plenty bayofplentynz.com
- Bay of Plenty Police facebook.com/BOPTaupoPolice
- Western Bay of Plenty District Council facebook.com/westernbaycouncil
- Tauranga City Council https://newsbeat.tauranga.govt.nz or facebook.com/TaurangaCityCouncil
- Bay of Plenty Regional Council facebook.com/boprc
The following visitor sector businesses and locations are currently closed (as at 23 January, and subject to change).
- Mauao (Mount Maunganui)
- Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park
- Mount Hot Pools
- Mauao Adventures
- Pāpāmoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park
- Kewpie Cruises
- Surf Shack Eatery
- Ōmanawa Falls
- McLaren Falls Park
- Waihī Beach Tasman Holiday Park
- Welcome Bay and Waihī Beach NZMCA motorhome parks
- Waikareao Estuary walkway (Daisy Hardwick)
It is important to note that the majority of our region’s visitor sector businesses remain open and continue to welcome domestic and international travellers.
We expect to host approximately 445,000 domestic visitors and 100,000 international visitors this month (based on January 2025 data). These include cruise passengers arriving via the Port of Tauranga.
That said, we strongly advise manuhiri (visitors) to please avoid the emergency area at the base of Mauao at this time.
Tourism Bay of Plenty is working closely with local and national partners to ensure a well-coordinated and informed response, and to support visitors and the wider tourism sector at this time.
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* Web page update - please contact businesses directly if you wish to enquire if they are open or closed. Most are likely to be using Facebook posts to provide any updates.
For additional updates on whether key visitor locations (e.g. public reserves and parks) are open or closed, please check the links that are listed near the top of this media statement.
This Department of Conservation website may also be helpful to check if a DOC area might have been affected.