This study employs the example of Bulgaria’s North Black Sea coast to examine the destination stakeholders’ perceptions of sustainable tourism development and the degree to which the principles of sustainability have been implemented in the policies and practices in the past three decades. It aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on coastal tourism development and its problematic relationship with the concept of sustainability in times of rapid changes. A multidisciplinary and holistic approach is adopted to develop an analytical framework for the study of sustainable tourism development