Austrian picture-postcard village, once swamped, awaits tourists' return

An empty road is seen during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the city of Hallstatt, Austria April 22, 2020. Picture taken April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

HALLSTATT, Austria (Reuters) - A tiny Austrian lakeside village so picturesque it had to limit throngs of tourists is now longing for visitors to return to its empty lanes.

Hallstatt, population 780, estimates it had a million day-trip visitors last year, before the coronavirus pandemic halted international tourism. Other European hotspots once suffocated by selfie-snapping visitors face a similar fate.