Tourism has been a driver for the economic development of many countries, ever more states considering the tourism sector as a priority, elaborating various policies for the development and promotion of their tourism offer on both national and international markets. During the last decades, rural tourism, having a long tradition in western European countries, is gaining popularity in the eastern part of the continent, national and local governments hoping that this form of tourism will help revive the economy of the countryside. The present paper aims at presenting the current state of rural tourism in Oltenia, one of Romania’s development regions, the challenges for the development of rural tourism in the area, as well as the extent to which rural tourism is a realistic economic development option for rural areas.