As a result of increasing urbanization, settlement of cities and stressful jobs, modern man is looking for a way to get away from everyday life and the usual environment and strives to connect with the nature. In the constant development of different touristical forms of tourism, as an optimal accommodation option for the purpose of satisfying the desire to stay outdoors and in nature, it is often decided to go camping and to stay in campsites. Istria County, although rich in all accommodation options, leads in comparison to the rest of the Republic of Croatia in terms of the number of campsites and their popularity, mostly due to its favorable transportational and coastal location, Mediterranean climate, extremely diversified camping offer and proximity to the broadcasting market. From its beginnings, until today, great progress can be seen in terms of offer, services, tourist products, equipment of camps and accommodation options that can be found. It is necessary to understand the importance of camping tourism within the Istrian County, but also in the Republic of Croatia, and the challenges of their development in today's rapidly changing world. The Republic of Croatia has already laid very good and successful foundations for the realization of an extremely good economic effect of camping tourism, and with a constant aspiration on advancement, it will undoubtedly become one of the leading camping destinations in Europe. This paper presents the basic characteristics of camping tourism, development preconditions, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the current camping situation in Istria County