Rural tourism provides a developmental perspective for the rural areas that produces positive economic, but also social effects. New business opportunities, the revitalization of traditional industries, whose products find a market in tourism, the interconnection of value chains, and the revitalization of agriculture promote demographic changes, and help keep the population in rural areas. Rural tourism is closely linked with agriculture, with family farms playing a particularly important role as the “guardians” of the rural space. Rural tourism provides them with a market for their products that has a multiple significance. In the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global decline in demand in tourism, rural tourism proved remarkably resilient. The change in awareness, preferences and motives, increased concerns about health and safety, and the focus on outdoor experiences, open spaces and uncrowded destinations and/or spots are indicative of potentials for even better valorization of the rural space in tourism going forward. A more complete valuation, reconstruction and protection of tourism potentials, and the development of an integral tourism product, are associated with the implementation of a programe that seeks to revitalize the rural space through a rural tourist destination development and branding programe. Rural tourism is an important factor in the reactivation of natural and cultural resources and in the sustainable development of rural spaces, helping safeguard the local identity, tradition and customs, protect the environment, strengthen the autochthonous, traditional and organic agricultural production, and develop rural areas in line with the principles of sustainable development, and can therefore be justly dubbed the future of global tourism. The presentations and discussions at the 5th International Rural Tourism Congress focused in particular on the distinctive features of rural tourism in Croatia, especially underlined in the presentations comprising the “Practice Speaks” session, where fourteen (14)successful practice examples were presented. The conclusion was that rural area share a new opportunity for Croatian tourism, giving the rising interest in undiscovered,authentic tourist destinations that offer contact with nature, an escape from the busy everyday life, and an authentic local tourism experience. This collection of 42 scientific papers and 19 specialist papers by authors from Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Ukraine,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Greece is the result of the presentations and constructive discussions held at the Congress. On behalf of the organizers, partners and sponsors, we would like to thank all authors,speakers and participants at the 5th International Rural Tourism Congress for their interest and their contribution to raising awareness in the scientific and professional community of rural tourism as a still underutilized, but highly promising specific form of tourism that can help make rural areas more attractive and more competitive. At the end of this preface, we would like to take a moment to honor our recently departed Honorary Chair of the Programming Committee of the Congress, Eduard Kušen, PhD, to whom we extend our special thanks.