local Community-based Rural Tourism (hereafter lCRT) has become for many rural areas a relevant tool to encourage strategies of local development capable. some empirical researches focus on lCTR as a model capable of generating economic and social, and environmental benefits in rural areas (employment, new sources of incomes, rescue of cultural traditions, conservation of natural resources,…), as well as encourage farming activities and foster the organization among people. it has come to regard as an alternative model of sustainable tourism to the dominant model of conventional tourism. Furthermore, the lCRT model has become an important complement activity to family farms. in this paper, the author analyses some cases of lCRT in Costa Rica rural in order to show the role this alternative tourism model plays in the launch of rural development strategies conducted by local population.