The Floriade garden show in Venlo, Limburg last year was a financial flop and failed to boost tourist numbers, according to regional broadcaster L1.

Local entrepreneurs had expected a surge in visitors but the number of tourists to the region only reached 2.5 million, 100,000 down on the previous year, the broadcaster said.

Earlier it emerged local councils were left with a €9m bill for running the show, which takes place in a different part of the Netherlands every 10 years.