The purpose of the conducted research in this thesis is to indicate the interdependence between the strategic management of the development of tourist destinations (the Croatian islands) and the sustainability of these respective destinations. Every tourist destination or region adopts or should adopt strategic documents (development strategies, action plans, spatial plans and the like) based on the norms and principles of sustainable development and when it comes to the particularly delicate environment such as the islands, which are spatially set, the development should be based on the principles of self-sufficiency with optimal exploitation of natural resources. Tourist destination as a foundation of the tourist system and the role of sustainable development should be based on the strategies and action plans that arise from it. This thesis has been structured so that the theoretical insights related to the management of tourist destinations and sustainable development, in its theoretical part, are examined and presented following the recent thoughts and attitudes of the relevant authorities on strategic management, as well as the laws, regulations and recommendations of the national sources and the sources of the European Union. In the empirical part of this study attitudes and opinions of the experts on the issues related to the sustainable development of tourism on the Croatian islands were examined during which statistical methods of data analysis were used. The data was collected by surveying the target sample of the island population. The research was conducted purposefully on the selected sample and those who were surveyed included workers in the tourist industry (directly employed), the representatives of the local (regional) self-government and the island population related to the tourist industry (indirectly employed). For the analysis of the collected data the following methods were used: descriptive and inferential statistics, variance analysis, correlation analysis, the analysis of the correlation of variables in the chisquared test and the relevance of the sample in the T-test. The claims put forward when questioned about the developmental strategy of the island were met by different attitudes depending on the heterogeneity of the area they cover, but from the viewpoint of the people familiar with the situation, tourist facilities were rated consistently, as well as claims related to the concept of sustainable development, when different attitudes primarily from the viewpoint of the reached tourist development became apparent. The sense of local affiliation is traditionally evident in the island population, which sometimes leads even to open hostility among the settlements of the island. The less developed the island area, the more pronounced this sense is, with its decrease or complete disappearance on the more developed tourist islands. However, a majority of the examinees agree that the local island community bears the greatest responsibility for implementing sustainable tourist development. The objectives of the research can be regarded: by examining the existing scientific and professional insight about the need to apply the concept of sustainable development as well as the sustainability of Croatian islands to preserve the resources and to create a better competitive advantage; by determining the application of sustainable tourism development indicators in the destination that stakeholders consider significant in the implementation of sustainable development guidelines; by establishing the link between the level of development and the mode of implementing the sustainable development in the destination; by observing the concept of scientifically based guidelines for creating the future state of sustainable tourism in the Republic of Croatia (especially the islands); by researching and analysing of legal regulations related to Croatian islands as a resource of a sustainable tourist product and comparison of the managing of tourist destinations on selected island groups in the European Union. The guidelines for the sustainable development in the destination imply the alignment of the goals and interests of all stakeholders in the tourist destination and assume management based on a compromise at all levels relevant to the sustainable development of the destination. Despite numerous research, adopted strategies, methodologies and indicator systems, there is no single concept for implementing sustainable tourism development on the islands in the Republic of Croatia. According to the results of the performed research, the dissertation provides suggestions for the effective management of destinations and directions for future research into the sustainable development of island tourist destinations.