106 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM suffers damages as a direct result of the performance of the executed contract. There are a number of vertical agreements in the tourism industry, in particular between tour operators and subcontractors, such as transportation companies, airlines, hotels and other service providers. This means that the situation outlined above can occur in the tourism industry with all the consequences in the field of antitrust private enforcement. 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Antitrust law and tourism are not often associated together, let alone antitrust private enforcement. With that in mind, the analysis within this chapter was not aimed at discussing details and intricacies of the private enforcement of antitrust law in tourism. Neither was the intention to discuss the particular problem of potential liability based on the infringement of antitrust law. Even though the chapter aimed to discuss private antitrust enforcement in the tourism industry in general, several conclusions and recommendations concerning relations between private antitrust enforcement and the tourism industry are outlined in the summary. Despite the fact that academics and practitioners alike are attracted to the tourism industry through consumer protection mostly, antitrust law and its private enforcement, is something that cannot continue to be ignored. On the contrary, enterprises that operate in the market of tourist services can in many cases pay a high price for a careless approach towards antitrust law and its potential violation. This price can be reflected not only in fines being imposed by competition authorities in public proceedings, but in damages awarded by courts as a result of private litigations as well. Compensation that a perpetrator shall pay to an injured party in the wake of antitrust damages claims can significantly change the current viewpoint of anyone doing business in the tourism industry. In that respect, the tourism industry does not significantly differ from other sectors of the economy where antitrust law, both public and private, has been present for years. As a result, any violation of antitrust law can bring about not only public sanctions imposed on the parties involved in the infringement, but also private compensation sought for by the injured party. With the exception of the US, where private antitrust enforcement has been dominating the whole antitrust enforcement from the very beginning, its significance has gradually gained in importance in other states, particularly
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