Industrialization, urbanization and other factors have enabled the development of cities where an increasing share of the world total population is concentrated. Cities have become political, economic and socio-cultural centers, while their development takes up space and uses intensively Resources and urban lifestyle has a negative impact on the environment and climate change. In doing so, the development of cities often does not adequately monitor the necessary infrastructure and services, so towns are facing a problem of sustainable development whose basic objective is to ensure the quality of life for citizens. Due to the process of urbanization and growth of tourism, cities also become tourist centers that attract tourists with infrastructure, amenities and attractions. Concentration of capital and innovation in cities, the development of communication-information and transport technology and changes in tourist trends have contributed to the transformation of cities into urban tourist destinations in which a significant share of total world tourism is realized. In addition to managing sustainable urban development, cities are therefore faced with the pressure of tourism and the potential adverse effects on the environment. The cities of the Republic of Croatia are similarly influenced, as most of the total Croatian tourist traffic is realized. Because of this, cities need to properly manage the development of tourism, whereby the concept of sustainable development represents a potential model for the sustainable development of tourism in Croatia's urban tourist destinations. The paper examines the limitations of the implementation of the concept of sustainable tourism development in the urban destinations of the Republic of Croatia. From this point of view, the paper explored, analyzed and systematically related and elaborated the current scientific and professional knowledge from the field of sustainable development and tourism. Empirical research has explored the problem of the inability to implement the concept and the application of general indicators of sustainable development of tourism in the urban destinations of the Republic of Croatia. Empirical research was conducted on stakeholders (public and private sector and civil society, local population and tourists) of eight Croatian urban destinations. The research has established the applicability of the existing general indicators of sustainable tourism development, with specific indicators of sustainable development of urban destination destinations. In addition, the link between the degree of tourism development and the degree of implementation of sustainable tourism development in urban destinations has been established. Finally, based on all the results obtained, a model of sustainable urban tourism development was developed, which is applicable when designing a strategic sustainable tourism development of urban destination. The paper also lays down certain restrictions and opportunities for tourism in the Republic of Croatia and recommendations for further research in the area of ​​interest are given. The perspectives of this work stem from the established scientific and professional findings related to the application of the concept and indicators of sustainable tourism development on a global scale, especially in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and its urban destinations