Special interest tourism counterbalances the mass form of tourism based on the specific interests of tourists and the motives for arriving at a tourist destination. There are various definitions for and divisions of special interest tourism, and there is no way to explain how natural and anthropogenic resources can be on the resource base of tourist destinations. The more resource-rich a tourist destination is, the greater the opportunity to develop the widely available selective form of tourism. Special interest tourism involves the inclusion of local cultures, local and indigenous products in the area, and highly personalized, high quality service. Sustainability and sustainable development are closely linked to the selective forms of tourism, which have been increasingly emphasized in recent times, since tourism should be planned in a thorough and strategic way and, accordingly, developed. In order to prevent excessive devastation of the environment and independent natural resources, it is increasingly necessary to implement the principle of sustainable management and development of tourism activities in the work of enterprises. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the differences between the development of special interest tourism in the Republic of Croatia and Austria, and to define the differences to confirm the hypotheses in the paper. The aim of this paper is to define the importance and the need for the sustainable development of special interest tourism and its implementation in the further development of tourism.