DATE: Bachelor Art Green takes the bachelorettes on a date in the Bay. PHOTO/MEDIAWORKS
Reality show The Bachelor showcased the Bay's "hidden romantic gems".
Tonight's episode showed a group date with bachelor Art Green and a rose ceremony at the French Country House in Pahoia and a single date at Omanawa Falls and Bella Vista Lodge with a massage from Willow Therapeutic.
The bachelorettes all stayed at Trinity Wharf.
The next three episodes are also filmed in Tauranga.
The show's executive producer Anna Lynch said Mediaworks was approached by Tourism Bay of Plenty to film in this region and "we leapt at the chance".
"It was a golden opportunity to showcase a region that hasn't been over exposed.
We relished the idea of finding hidden romantic gems in an area that is relatively unexplored."
During the first two ad breaks in tonight's episode, a Tourism BOP advert screened featuring the Western Bay and Whakatane as romantic getaways.
The newly upgraded Waitaha Reserve has been officially opened in Welcome Bay, Tauranga.