The purpose of this graduate thesis was to determine the resources and capacities that the area of Ravni Kotari have and to establish the limitations and shortcomings that the analyzed area faces, with the aim of setting proposals and guidelines that would enable the further development of Ravni Kotari as a rural tourist destination. Ravni Kotari belong to the rural area of Croatia, therefore the concept of rural tourism has been thoroughly elaborated and explained. In the paper, the current state of Ravni Kotari is first theoretically explained in more detail; basic characteristics, natural attractions, accommodation capacities and economic effects from the development of rural tourism. Furthermore, the analysis of marketing activities are presented, the LEADER program is presented, the need for a holistic approach and the IRQ model is explained, the advantages and disadvantages of managing rural tourism are established, and the role and task of the Tourist Boards of Ravni Kotari and the Tourist Board of the City of Zadar are determined. Proposals and hints on the possibilities of further development of rural tourism were given and they were grounded by the conducted empirical research. Two surveys were conducted for the management of rural tourism in Ravni Kotari and the results were interpreted, based on which conclusions were drawn about the potential and possibilities of quality development of rural tourism in the area of Ravni Kotari. The first survey dealt with the examination of opinions of the local population of Zadar County on the possibilities of developing rural tourism in Ravni Kotari, and the second on the opinions of private renters of Ravni Kotari on the development of tourism. From both surveys, it was concluded that the main problems of Ravni Kotari are promotion and marketing of the area, lack of tourist offer, emigration of the population and insufficient cooperation with other tourist communities. Likewise, it was established that Ravni Kotari contains predispositions for the development of rural tourism; such as beautiful nature and landscape, rich gastronomic tradition and rich cultural and historical art. However, it is necessary to invest joint effort and energy, involve state bodies and other resources that will enable further creation of the tourist offer of the rural area of Ravni Kotari.