This paper seeks to show the ways mass tourism impacts the environment as well as the good and bad examples of Croatian tourism in practice. Today, tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors, providing ample opportunity for societal progress. In the long term, only implementing a sustainable development program can establish Croatia on the list of most desirable destinations. Sustainable tourism is an important determinant of general development and improvement. The main aim of the paper was to consider the idea of sustainable development as a tool for reducing mass tourism pressure in reference to how it can be used to create competitive advantage. The consequences of not implementing sustainable tourism development is detrimental to the destination if a policy is oriented towards profit making; forgetting about nature and its resources. Therefore, sustainable development is defined as a set of principles that meet the needs of today's generations without endangering future needs. The paper describes the development of mass tourism, and specific ways it can evolve according to the principles of sustainable development, the ecological behavior of all stakeholders in the tourism business, and the preservation of natural resources which can contribute to social and economic benefits for stakeholders. The main conclusion of the paper is that mass tourism causes a loss of identity in the destination, and the development of tourism must adapt to the destination and its identity, not vice versa.