The number of new hotels to be opened in Portugal in 2015 is due to increase by more than half judged year-on-year as the European nation recovers from recession, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The agency quoted a report of the Lisbon Tourism Association saying a total of 21 new hotels were to be opened in 2015. Last year Portugal saw 12 hotel openings.

The new venues for this year include Vincci Seleccion Lisboa and Hotel Riverside Alfama, the report added.

Tourism is expected to account for 15.8 percent of Portugal’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, Xinhua added. The Portuguese Government expects the nation’s economy to expand by 1.6 percent in 2015.

Portugal’s economy grew 0.9 percent last year, after contracting for three consecutive years. The country exited a three-year bailout programme from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in May 2014.