134 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM it will be located in Messara, a sparsely populated rural area which is difficult and time-consuming to access and lacks any noteworthy or adequate tourist infrastructure”. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the measure did not constitute State aid. Feeling that this argumentation might not be totally sound and probably because the site was also on the UNESCO’s world heritage list, the Commission made compatibility assessment under the cultural aid exemption and found the measure as compatible. Nonetheless, the most outlandish decision in this respect arose from a Czech measure64. In 2012, the Czech authorities notified the Commission regarding the financing of certain touristic activities. The measure was to promote tourism infrastructure, rehabilitation, on-going maintenance, access to and use of sites of regional importance and increase of the proportion of the environmentally friendly tourism within the region65. The aim was not only to develop and renovate bike paths, renovate cultural monuments, create parking lots and routes for hiking and biking purposes as well as local leisure facilities. When assessing whether the measure constitutes aid, the Commission relied exclusively on the information given by the Czech authorities and, for the following reasons, concluded that it did not have an effect on trade, hence not constituting aid: “The support is not expected to lead to an increased inflow of foreign tourists as the scheme rather focuses on the increase of domestic tourism. […] As regards one-day visits from Austria, they seem to focus on shopping tourism considering the price differences between the two countries. As for the tourist flows from the Slovak Republic, they are according to the Czech authorities stronger, however thanks to the historic ties with the Czech Republic, they are oriented on visits of relatives, business trips and shopping. Also the tourist attractiveness of the region is not internationally competitive (for overnight tourism) and the region lacks facilities and infrastructure for mass tourism. […] fact that those focused on the accompanying infrastructure (parking, toilets etc.) do not seem to have an 64 SA.35909 (2012/N) – Czech Republic Infrastructure for tourism. 65 The concrete measures to be financed were: – Construction and reconstruction of tourism infrastructure, including the purchase of technical equipment for active and cultural discovery tourism; – Reconstruction, conservation and accessibility of monuments of supraregional and regional significance for the Czech Republic in municipalities with a population of more than 500 inhabitants, including the necessary accompanying infrastructure (signs, social facilities, furniture, rest areas, etc.); – Construction, reconstruction, signage and improvements to cycling routes, trails for hikers and skiers, nature trails including supplementary facilities (e.g. bicycle parking, rest areas, etc.); and – Construction, adaptations and reconstruction of access roads, including related supporting infrastructure (e.g. pavements and parking areas etc.) for tourist sites.
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