Tourism is one of the most important activities in the Republic of Croatia, its nautical tourism, as a special form of tourism, having an increasingly significant role in this. Nautical tourism is often one of the most expensive forms of tourism due to the high prices of vessels, equipment, services and the storage of vessels, especially for boaters looking for luxury and quality tourist and nautical offer. In the Republic of Croatia, one of the key challenges for the development of nautical tourism is its slow trend of development, so it is crucial to devise development guidelines and strategic programs to overcome the various forms of impact of crises and external shocks and enable the creation of a quality nautical tourism product. The subject of this graduate study is the role and perspectives of the development of nautical tourism in the Republic of Croatia with the aim of developing a unique and recognizable tourist product that contributes significantly to the creation of Croatia's identity as a nautical destination. The aim of this study is also to give a theoretical contribution to the understanding of nautical tourism and, on the basis the research carried out, come up with relevant conclusions that will contribute to the further development of nautical tourism. The purpose of the work is to clearly determine the role of nautical tourism in achieving competitiveness on the nautical and tourist market.