Modern times are characterized by globalization, which, among other things, has stimulated a change in tourist demand trends. There is a growing decline in tourist demand for seasonal mass "3S" tourism and there is an increase in tourist demand for special forms of tourism, including rural tourism. The change in the motives that inspire a modern tourist to travel is caused by the need to move away from hectic everyday life and the desire to return to the primal values. This paper is based on the research of natural and anthropological resources on which the Međimurje tourist supply is based. The purpose of the research is to analyze the specifics of the rural tourist destination of Međimurje through the existing resource-attraction basis of rural tourism of the observed county and to assess the level of tourist attractiveness and the success of tourism resources economic valorization. The aim is to see the identity value of the rural tourist destination of Međimurje through the tourist satisfaction with the quality level of the integrated sustainable tourist product suppy that is reflected in the strength of tourist arrivals and overnight stays. The analysis of the specifics of rural tourism development provides an insight into the tourism potentials and further development possibilities of Međimurje as a recognizable rural tourist destination. The paper is based on desk research of collected secondary data from books, related scientific articles and previous research on rural tourism. The deductive method, method of analysis and synthesis, method of classification, method of comparison, method of description and method of case study of rural tourism in Međimurje were applied to the collected data. Empirical research proves hypotheses that Međimurje possesses attractive tourist resources, that the perception of the preferred destination of Međimurje is built on the concept of sustainability and that the destination management contributes to increasing the level of total satisfaction of tourists with the quality of the Međimurje tourist destination. The contribution of this paper is to prove a better understanding of the impact of rural tourism on the development of rural areas on the example of the rural tourist destination of Međimurje. The special emphasis of this paper is on the importance of creating a recognizable image of a rural tourist destination based on the concept of sustainable tourism development. Focusing on sustainable tourism development affects the preservation of the authenticity and uniqueness of rural destinations, which meets the modern tourists needs and expectations.