On a stunning weekend when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, Tauranga is surely one of the most appealing places in the world.
And Priority One set out to prove just that to expat Kiwis when the organisation launched its Back In The Bay campaign and website earlier this year.
The initiative, which uses social media and videos, targets young professionals in their 20s and 30s, now living and working in Britain.
Priority One project manager Greg Simmonds said the aim was to show an "updated" perception of Tauranga in terms of career and lifestyle.
And less than six months after the website's launch, at least four expats have settled in Tauranga as a direct result of the campaign.
It's hard to say how many others have been inspired to move to the Bay through the site, Mr Simmonds said.
"We recognise that expats don't just leave because of a website. It's about engaging them and updating their perceptions of Tauranga.
"It's more about providing them with information and getting them to consider Tauranga and put it in the mix. The ultimate aim is to get Kiwi expats to come back and bring their skills back to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty."
Often, Tauranga was not even considered by New Zealanders coming home from their OE, Mr Simmonds said.
"They automatically look to Auckland or Wellington. [It's great] if we can at least get them to have a look at Tauranga."
The Back In The Bay site attracts visitors mostly from Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
"We have started doing some quite targeted Facebook advertising," Mr Simmonds said. "That seems to have been working really well, because you can target the age demographic of 25-36 years.
"We can be quite targeted on our marketing and focus it on New Zealanders outside the Bay of Plenty and in Australia and the UK. That's starting to drive a lot more traffic to the site."
After more than three years overseas, Gemma Craven was ready to come home to New Zealand.
And while many of her friends were looking at moving to Auckland, Wellington or Australia, Tauranga was top of her list.
Although she grew up in Rotorua, plenty of happy times at her family's Papamoa bach had convinced Ms Craven that Tauranga was the place for her.
But with a Masters degree in international business and experience at a commodity trading company in London, she wasn't sure she would find the right work in the Bay.
The 26-year-old and her partner Jordan Hignett arrived back in New Zealand in December.
"We have got family in Tauranga and we were tossing up whether to come here or Auckland.
"We figured we would see if we could get a job in Tauranga and if we couldn't we were looking at going to Auckland or maybe Australia."
Ms Craven stumbled across the Back in The Bay website and linked up with Priority One staff, who were "really helpful" and put her in touch with key businesses.
One of those businesses was Moca Web Creations, where she now works as a web marketer.
"[Priority One] got the job description, passed my CV to Moca and they got in touch with me. It was so quick, it only took a couple of weeks."
Mr Hignett quickly found work as a fabricator welder and the couple are now based at Mount Maunganui and enjoying the Bay of Plenty lifestyle.
"It's been really good," Ms Craven said. "After coming from London, everyone here is so active. It's really cool.
"Living at the Mount is amazing - we walk to everything and it's a really relaxed lifestyle. There's not the commuting or anything like that.
"There's more opportunities for the outdoors lifestyle."
Ms Craven said many Kiwis overseas automatically thought that Auckland, Wellington and Australia were their only options when returning to New Zealand.
"So many of my friends have gone to Australia and that was definitely something we were considering.
"People want to come to Tauranga for the lifestyle but first can you get a job and can you get a job with decent pay? You are willing to take a bit less money because it's an awesome lifestyle."
Ms Craven had been struck by how many Tauranga-based businesses were doing "absolutely amazing things".
"Working with Moca I have been able to work with different companies in different industries.
"I think there are heaps of opportunities here."
Josh Haile and Ella Calder are exactly the type of people Tauranga needs more of.
Mr Haile, 26, is a structural engineer, and his 28-year-old partner is a doctor.
So when Priority One heard the city was in danger of losing the couple to Auckland or another city, the economic agency sprang into action.
Dr Calder, who grew up in Tauranga, had met her English partner while travelling in France.
When they decided to move to New Zealand, Dr Calder quickly found work at Tauranga Hospital, where she had previously worked.
"If I couldn't get work in Tauranga, we were considering going to maybe Auckland or somewhere else to find work," Mr Haile said.
Dr Calder's father had heard of the Back in the Bay campaign and put Mr Haile in touch with Priority One.
The organisation introduced him to local engineering firms and helped set up job interviews.
Within three weeks of job hunting, he had a job at engineering firm Beca.
The couple, who are both keen surfers, are loving their new life in Mount Maunganui.
"It's nice and and relaxed, I enjoy it," Mr Haile said.
"We are living right next to the beach - you can't really get there in England."
Campaign is attracting expats back to Bay
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