From 2020 there will be no country called the Netherlands

The Dutch government has announced its intention to ban the name "Netherlands" from the list of names given to the country, starting tomorrow, Wednesday, January 1, 2020.

The name "Netherlands" actually means only two of the country's 12 provinces, so the government decided to take this action in order to preserve the country's unity and better control its image on the international stage.

The French newspaper "Le Monde" said that from this date, companies, embassies, ministries or even universities can only deal with the state using its legal name "Nederland" (the English word Netherlands).

The move comes as part of a massive campaign to change the name "Holland", which costs 200,000 euros, in a year that will include major international events in this country, such as the Olympic Games, European Women's Football and the "Eurovision" competition.

Among the main objectives of this campaign, the government hopes to develop tourism, attract tourists to provinces other than the most popular, and reduce it in certain areas facing overcrowding.

18 million tourists
The newspaper "Le Monde" pointed out that the term "Holland" is actually called only two of the 12 provinces in the country, which are the north of the country where Amsterdam is located, and the south of which includes the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague, where the economy and wealth center in the country since the 19th century, When the region came to prominence, it became an acronym for the whole country.

She pointed out that the Dutch themselves use the name "Netherlands", which is still used so far on the Internet for those who search on the official website of tourism in the country, where the address is "Holland.com."

A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement to a local agency that it is somewhat strange to promote a small part of the country abroad, meaning the Netherlands only. The country has also unveiled a new emblem that adds the first two letters N and L from NL.

According to the newspaper, the Netherlands (underland) received about 18 million tourists in 2018, despite the fact that its population is hardly more than 17 million. By 2030, the influx of visitors is expected to reach 42 million.