Nowadays, tourism forms an integral part of a country's economic system and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. Its role within the state’s social, cultural, educational and economic sector is very visible. Tourism brings a significant inflow into the local economies and creates new employment opportunities in the service sector. The beginnings of tourism can be traced back to ancient Greece, while the beginning of traveling for leisure is closely tied to the Industrial revolution. Tourism saw its greatest expansion after the Second World War due to a surplus of money and the increase of leisure time. In order to remain competitive, tourist destinations must keep developing, adding to their offer and adapting to the needs of tourists. The aim of this thesis is to point out the importance of recognition regarding tourist attractions and activities as a key factor contributing to the competitive advantage of a destination. The objective of this paper is to compare the tourist supply and demand of two tourist destinations, Istria County in Croatia and the Northern Region in Portugal. The thesis seeks to compare similarities and differences in the supply, markets and demand of the above-mentioned regions. An additional goal is to determine the competitive advantages of both destinations. Research has shown that both regions have a similar annual growth rate and are very successful tourist destinations in which the number of tourist arrivals and nights is registering an annual constant growth. Moreover, it has also been noted that both destinations offer a variety of attractive tourist attractions. The main differentiating factors between the two destinations are visible in the forms of accommodation facilities, with the Istria County realizing a larger number of arrivals and nights per square meter and per capita. Also, there is a substantial difference in emissive markets. Another resounding difference between the regions is that the Northern Region has managed to disperse tourism during the whole year, while the Istria County is fighting against a marked seasonality in demand. After conducting the research, several weaknesses pertaining to these destinations were pointed out, and suggestions for future development were given as a result.