The main purpose of this study is to understand how residents perceive economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism in historic cities and how that perception affects their future support for tourism development. Based on the review of the literature in the area of tourism, in particular with regard to its development and to the residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards this phenomenon, this paper studied the case of the Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian, a world heritage site (WHS) area of the tourist destination Split in Croatia. This study analyses the relationship between variables such as the perception of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts in people’s personal lives and professional and economic dependence on tourism and demographic characteristics. The results show that local residents identify negative impacts of tourism better than positive impacts in their area of residence and in their personal lives. It is noted that residents perceive tourism impacts differently according to professional and economic dependence on tourism activity. Only few demographic factors proved to be significant in explaining the difference in perception of tourism impacts among local residents. The results of the study reinforce the importance of considering the residents’ perceptions vis-à-vis the tourism as a decisive factor in the sustainable development of tourism destination. It is slso argued that residents and their stakeholder groups are critical components in the context of a holistic and integrated approach to tourism planning and development in world heritage sites.