Dutch government drops ‘Holland’ name, now to be known only as ‘The Netherlands’

From January 2020, the name Holland officially ceases to exist as a designation of the Netherlands. The change is a part of tourism rebranding where the Dutch government now wants to focus on presenting the country as a whole and promote its wider offerings. Part of the new strategy, marketing will increase a focus on sustainable tourism by looking at longer-stay visitors to cities beyond the already popular. The term Holland only refers to two of The Netherland’s 12 regions, North Holland and South Holland. The areas are home to two of the country’s biggest cities- – Amsterdam and The Hague. The reform to change the country’s name will cost the kingdom a budget of € 200,000.

Authorities in the country believe that the tourist flow will be redistributed, as today most tourists visit the historically old Netherlands. The country’s official tourism website holland.com, which for a long tie has used holland as its main name, will be switching to the use of The Netherlands.

The Netherlands’ Board of Tourism and Conventions also is scrapping its symbol featuring a tulip, the national flower, and the word “Holland” and replacing it with a new logo that has an orange tulip and the initials “NL.”
Meanwhile, companies, embassies, ministries and universities will only be allowed to officially use the name the Netherlands from this month.