The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of tourism in the process of rural development. This is, essentially, a broad area and so the intention of the paper is to give a broad overview of the conceptual nature of rural tourism and to highlight some salient issues in the development and management of tourism in the rural context. Using available academic research, the rationale for rural tourism enterprises (at the micro level) and more strategic rural tourism development (at the macro level) are suggested.