Over the last decades, the tourism market has experienced significant changes, with regard to tourist offer and demand. On the one hand, tourism development providers are facing increasing demand with expectations and needs that are to be met while on the other hand, they have to deal with escalating competition in the market. Given these facts, the question arises on how to efficiently manage a touristm destination, i.e. the development of tourism. In view of the above mentioned circumstances, efficient destination management becomes an imperative for development providers. There is no doubt that the development of tourism needs to be managed and not left uncontrolled, so different platforms are used to avoid the above mentioned. One of the most commonly used models are strategic marketing plans for the tourism industry. Although recently there has been growing interest in this area, the literature that studies their use in tourism has been scarce. In view of the above and in addition to the theoretical elaboration of strategic marketing plans, this paper aims to present the importance and usability of strategic marketing plans in the management of tourism destinations. The town of Omiš is used as an example of a destination that started implementing its strategic plan. Primary and secondary research has shown that strategic marketing plans are effective tools for destination management and that they greatly contribute to the involvement of all stakeholders in the development process. Guided by a common vision, only the synergy of all stakeholders can lead to the successful development of a destination.