Split-Dalmatia County is a region with a tradition of tourism. This area is rich in cultural and historical heritage, intangible heritage, but also natural benefits. All of the above is an excellent basis for the development of selective forms of tourism. In the past, the inhabitants of the county lived in the rural areas of Zagora where they were engaged in agriculture and various traditional crafts. Today, in the time of urbanization and accelerated lifestyle, an increasing number of guests are looking for a peaceful vacation away from overcrowded cities, and the rural areas of the County can provide just that. The aim of this paper was to prove how the development of special forms of tourism affects the life of the local community, the improvement of the tourist offer and the extension of the season. Also, the second sub-hypothesis tried to prove how rural tourism affects the development of other special forms of tourism. The first part of the paper describes the problem and the subject of the research, as well as the goals and contribution of the research. The second chapter lists the theoretical determinants of tourism and special forms of tourism, while the third and fourth parts of the paper describe the current state of supply of these forms of tourism in the county. The fifth part of the paper refers to the empirical research based on the survey questionnaire attached to the paper. This questionnaire was conducted among the inhabitants of the county, but also the whole of Croatia in order to gain knowledge about the attitudes of the population, and the results were processed in the SPSS program. The last two chapters provide guidelines for future development, as well as concluding remarks.