Tourism in the Republic of Croatia is one of the most important economic branches. During the season of tourism, tourism sector employs most of the working-age population, which affects the living standard of the population. Tourism of the Republic of Croatia in the longterm contributes to economic growth by attracting foreign investment and short-term by balancing the balance of payments and encouraging additional employment in closely related tourism activities. The role of tourism in the economy system is derived from it is economic functions. We investigated and presented the possibilities of strengthening the competitiveness of Croatian tourism, by using grants and EU fonds. According to the aforementioned, the purpose of this pape ris to determine the effect of the admittance of Croatia into the EU and its tourism results by analysis of tourist indicators. The accession of the Republic of Croatia into the EU had positive effects on tourist indicators. This was evident in the increase of number of tourist arrivals and overnights, as well as in the tourism-generated revenue. The positive results and their growth, significantly contributed to the coverage of Croatian balance of payments. Also, we made a comparison of the Republic of Croatia with competing countries.