The presence of tourists in a certain destination has an ecological and sociocultural impact, as well as an impact on the economy. The main driving force behind the steady growth of tourism is the economic benefit it generates. In order to understand the economic importance of tourism, it is necessary to observe the structure of the local population, and to determine the level of dependence of income, employment and financial inflows on tourism, because where there is a high level of dependence on tourism, there is also a doubt that the tourist destination will become sensitive to factors that are outside market regulation. It is especially necessary to pay attention to the economic impacts of tourism, i.e. their positive and negative aspects. Considering the exceptional importance of tourism for the economy of the Republic of Croatia, it is necessary to additionally define its influence on the development of the local community. The opinion of the local community is crucial for the successful and sustainable development of tourism, because defining their attitudes towards tourism (especially towards the economic effects of tourism), i.e. the positive and negative effects resulting from the development of tourism represents very important information for decision makers in tourism