Spa tourism is not adequately treated in the development strategies of Knjaževac. Much more attention is given to the development of tourism in the mountain Stara Planina, as idea that rural tourism could become an important source of income for the population of this area. Thermal water sources, only five kilometers away from Knjaževac, have not been used for tourist purposes. The goal of this paper is to analyze the potential of Rgoška spa for tourism development in this region, with emphasis on experiences from Europe. .