The Dutch Government Decides To Ditch The Use Of The Term ‘Holland!’

Shakespeare once said, “What’s in a name!” Well, truth be told, a lot. Very much or should one say, practically everything! Particularly when one thinks of the statement from the viewpoint of conflicting identities of the same thing, then it appears that there’s a lot of substance that goes against the rationale that what’s in a name.

Whether one takes it into account or not or pays some heed to this fact or not, there are still hundreds of thousands out there who prefer calling The Netherlands as Holland. Holland has been a long-standing name of The Netherlands, truly one of the most mesmerizingly beautiful countries in all of Europe.

But as it turns out, it appears that the Dutch Government has taken its stance on the name Holland and therefore, its usage henceforth. So what exactly has happened and what decision has been taken by the Dutch government.

Well, where it stands at the moment, then the Dutch government has decided to ditch all possible usages of the term “Holland” when referencing The Netherlands. So there you go, the official word is out there and has to be taken into one’s consideration.

And in lines with the above, one may understand the immediate impact and logical usage of the government’s final decision.

Henceforth and for times to come, all possible promotional material that concerns the country will not use the phrase Holland and therefore, The Netherlands, will be the only name by which the touristic country will be referenced, promoted and marketed.

But, wait a second. This wasn’t some last-minute, knee-jerk reactionary stand taken by the concerned. The decision was reached only after considering the verdict and thoughts of the key stakeholders of The Netherlands. This, therefore, includes- the central government, the key business leaders as well as the country’s tourism board.

Therefore, all said and done, one can safely submit, the country has reached finality of sorts, a key branding decision that comfortably puts a lid on all confusion.

Forbes magazine reported in great detail about the aforementioned story and highlighted some lucid facts:

hose behind the change want to essentially rebrand the country on an international stage, where Holland is arguably the more common name. In particular, government ministers are keen to disassociate the county from the image of Amsterdam’s red light district and recreational drug use.

A spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs said the Netherlands needed a more uniform and coordinated national branding. She said: “We want to present the Netherlands as an open, inventive and inclusive country. We’ve modernised our approach.

Although the Netherlands’ flag is red, white and blue, the color orange is prominently used in the country’s branding. Dutch News reported that orange will remain the country’s official colour, although it’s not known whether the tulip icon will be retained.

Among the first uses of the revised brand in major promotional campaigns will be at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, which will be hosted by the Dutch city Rotterdam. The Netherlands will also be used on all materials associated with the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Suggested Read: Switzerland is no longer the richest nation on Earth.

All said and done, what one needs to take into account from this point in time is that any current or future references to The Netherlands should be minus the usage of the phrase Holland. That’s past. The Netherlands is the present and future.