AMSTERDAM: If you avoided ever referring to the Netherlands as “Holland” because you weren’t quite sure if that was correct, keep doing what you’re doing. The country kicked off 2020 by officially striking the name from use.
Though Holland technically refers to only two of the Netherlands’ 12 provinces, North and South Holland, citizens have long accepted and even embraced it as another moniker for the entire country. But because those two provinces are home to popular destinations like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, and The Hague, unmanageable masses of tourists are clogging the region and inching the Netherlands towards an over-tourism crisis.
Terminating references to Holland is part of the Netherlands’ nationwide endeavor to remind prospective tourists that the country isn’t just Holland, and it has plenty of other appealing locales beyond the quaint canals and cat houseboats of Amsterdam. As part of the rebrand, Holland will be replaced with the Netherlands in all promotional and marketing materials, as well as at companies, embassies, government offices, and universities. The country’s official logo is changing, too—instead of Holland beside an orange tulip, it’ll be the word Netherlands to the right of the initials NL (which are designed to resemble a tulip).
It’s not the Netherlands’ first attempt to keep tourism in check. According to Forbes, the Board of Tourism stopped promoting Holland as a tourist destination last May, and they’re shutting down offices in Spain, Italy, and Japan to help curb the influx of visitors. Amsterdam, meanwhile, is planning to increase its tourist tax for the second time in two years.
This latest campaign coincides with an especially significant year for the Netherlands in terms of international exposure. Not only will the country compete in this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo, it’s also slated to host the Eurovision Song Contest and four soccer matches in the UEFA Euro tournament.
