Tourism plays a very important role in the national economy of the Republic of Croatia due to a number of economic benefits. These are primarily income growth, employment, capital investment, and fostering regional growth and development. One of the basic goals of each country's macroeconomic policy, including Croatia, is foreign trade balance. However, Croatia has seen a constant deficit in foreign trade, and tourism has been successfully mitigating the negative effect of Croatia's trade with abroad for many years. Therefore, the paper seeks to point out the dependence of the foreign trade balance of the Republic of Croatia on tourism and propose possible solutions to increase the competitiveness of other sectors in the economy. Through empirical research, it seeks to confirm how dependence on tourism slows the development of other sectors in the economy, which in the long run poses a threat to the sustainability of the country’s economic growth and development. As Croatian tourism is largely seasonal, this thesis contributes in terms of proposing solutions to the development of alternative sources of income in tourism itself and increasing the competitiveness of other sectors in the economy.