In order to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism destinations and businesses that operate in them in a way that they are able to thrive and provide long-term results, it is necessary to create a tourism policy that will support tourism development based on the principles of sustainability. Despite the undeniable and inevitable inclusion of all sustainability aspects (environmental, socio-cultural and economic), when it comes to tourism, the main reasons behind tourism development are usually economically driven. The economic impacts of tourism, among other, depend on the amount of attained tourist consumption, therefore, the identification of its determinants is useful in terms of understanding consumption patterns and establishing market segments, as well as in terms of increasing the economic effects of tourism. For the purpose of collecting primary data and testing the hypotheses, empirical research was conducted in the Opatija Riviera and in Rijeka and its surroundings. One of the objectives was to determine the characteristics and structure of tourists staying in the selected destinations, measure the degree of importance they assign to elements of the tourism offer as well as the degree of their satisfaction with these elements and to determine the significance of differences in their average scores. Furthermore, the aim was to determine the dimensions of tourist satisfaction with the destination’s tourism offer and to determine its critical elements. The focus of the research was aimed at determining the extent and structure of tourist consumption in the destination and, according to the purpose of this study, to identify the qualitative and quantitative determinants of demand, which significantly contribute to the amount of tourist expenditure in the destination. Before conducting the empirical research, the available domestic and foreign literature was analysed. This analysis represents a comprehensive overview systematization of previous research on tourist consumption at the destination level. By completing the process of analysing primary and secondary data and by applying simple and advanced statistical analysis methods, all set goals were achieved and the proposed hypotheses have been tested. Based on the results, it is possible to confirm the scientific hypothesis of this doctoral thesis: The level of tourist consumption in a tourist destination, apart from the socio-economic characteristics of tourists and their travel features, is also connected with the degree of satisfaction with the total tourism offer of a destination.