The Dutch government’s tourism promotion is taking on a new identity with not only a new logo but a new name. The country is to be called Netherlands, not Holland, and the familiar casual-look tulip logo is to be replaced by a more formal look, although still with a stylized tulip that becomes apparent after you stare at it a while.
The cost of the rebranding was about €200,000. But Dutch trade minister Sigrid Kaag says that “I am sure most people will understand that costs come before benefits and as we are talking about billions of euros and jobs, that €200,000 is a small amount in the total package.” The logo will also be used on trade missions.
As of this writing, however, holland.com, the official tourism site, is still live with the old URL and the old logo. And they’d better hurry if they want netherlands.com—it’s available for sale. But, since the country’s name varies in different languages, and does so in the new logo, they may have other plans.
One reason for the change: Holland is the name of only two of the Netherlands’ twelve provinces, the sea-facing Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland.
