The paper deals with tourism in the European Union. To begin with, the concept of tourism, and the driving factors of tourism, are well explained. In addition, the work of the European Union is presented through the essential features of the concept of development of a European tourist destination as well as EU tourism policies in the form of EU funds in a new financial perspective by 2020, as well as projects and programs of importance for European tourism development. Special attention is paid to the issue of tourism in the EU countries, ie the number of tourist accommodation facilities in the European union and the number of overnight stays in accommodation facilities, as well as tourist trips of EU residents and travel and travel expenses. At the end of the paper, the tourism development of Croatia within the European Union, the very history of tourism in Croatia since the earliest days, as well as the adaptation of the Croatian tourist offer to the European union trends, is presented. After Croatia became a full member of the European Union, the development of Croatian tourism should, among other things, be in line with EU policies, and be based on principles like namely partnership, institutional deregulation, environmentally responsible development, more than sun and sea, tourism in the whole area, authenticity and creativity, hotel industry as a key driver of investment cycles, innovative market performance, production for tourism and quality culture. At the end of the last chapter, emphasis was placed on the plans and recommendations for the development of Croatia's tourism, development of rural tourism in smaller municipalities in the present and in the future within the European Union.