Belgian town with only 21 inhabitants fighting for a second tourism chance

Some of the empty houses in Doel, a village that has been abandoned by many residents since the late 1970s. — Photos: FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS/AFP

Doel has a reputation as Belgium’s best-known ghost town. But its few inhabitants – today numbering just 21 – now see a glimmer of hope of their village bouncing back to life.

If it does, it would be a remarkable change of fortune for a place that has been steadily emptying out since the late 1970s when its population was 60 times bigger, leaving behind silent streets of crumbling, sealed-up homes covered in graffiti.