The Inspired by Iceland tourism marketing campaign asking visitors to rename the country, ‘Iceland by Another Name,’ has continued to attract considerable attention abroad.

One of the suggestions on the Inspired by Iceland website.

In recent weeks, the international media has run a number of articles about the competition, most recently in USA Today.

The introduction to the article in the USA Today reads: “What to do after a financial collapse, a grass-roots revolt against the government and a volcanic cloud that disrupted cross-Atlantic air travel for weeks? Change your name.”

The author goes on to say that the name change started out as a promotion but suggests that it has since taken on a more serious undertone, with some Icelanders saying that it is a bad joke.

Iceland Review Online has received at least one letter from a concerned reader expressing their views on Iceland’s decision to change its name.

Guðrún Birna Jörgensen, project manager at Promote Iceland, the body behind the campaign, told mbl.is that the coverage was based on a misunderstanding and that the campaign was intended as a bit of fun and to get visitors to Iceland to think about what the country means to them.

As reported earlier, the campaign, which asks, “What would you name Iceland if this was your first glimpse of it?” welcomes people to submit their suggestions via Facebook and Twitter and the most popular are posted on the Inspired by Iceland website.

ZR