The Netherlands will stop using Holland as its nickname in the new year as part of a $220,000 rebranding campaign.
he country's government is looking to update its international image ahead of the 2020 Olympics and the Eurovision Song Contest, which the Netherlands will host.
The name Holland only refers to two of the country's 12 provinces, North-Holland, where Amsterdam is located, and South-Holland, the home of Rotterdam and The Hague. However, the nickname is often used to describe the entire country, officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The government is spending $220,000 and, come January, companies, embassies, ministries and universities will only refer to the country using its official name.
It is reportedly part of a plan to draw tourists to other parts of the country as some cities battle overtourism.
"It is a little strange to promote only a small part of the Netherlands abroad, that is, only Holland," a spokesperson for the foreign ministry told the Spanish international news agency EFE.
荷兰更换国家标识 改名尼德兰
“荷兰”这一名称将被停用（自2020年1月起），这是荷兰政府耗资22万美元（约合人民币154万元）重塑国家形象计划的一部分。
荷兰政府希望在2020年奥运会及欧歌赛举办之前，通过“改名”进一步提升国际形象。下届欧歌赛将在荷兰举办。
“荷兰”这个名字仅指该国12个省中的两个省，即阿姆斯特丹所在的“北荷兰省”，以及鹿特丹和海牙所在的“南荷兰省”。 然而，这一名称却经常被用来代指整个国家。荷兰的官方全称为尼德兰王国。
自2020年1月起，荷兰国内公司、使馆、政府部门和大学只能使用其官方名称“尼德兰”来指代该国。该计划将耗资22万美元。
据报道，该计划也是为了吸引游客到荷兰其他地方旅游。荷兰一些城市正面临“过度旅游”这一难题。
荷兰外交部一位发言人曾告诉埃菲社记者说：“只把尼德兰的一小部分，即荷兰，推广到国外，这有点奇怪”。