Rural tourism is an important approach to the realization of rural vitalization.Currently the development of rural tourism is the first and foremost task in rural regions since the ethnic areas are home to rich tourist resources，big tourist potentials，and strong tourist markets. In this paper we first discuss the internal mechanism of rural tourism driving rural vitalization，and then explore the in-depth logical relationship between rural tourism and rural vitalization，so as to provide a new perspective for understanding the role of rural tourism in ethnic minority regions in the cause of Rural Vitalization.Then we point out the difficulties in the task of rural tourism driving rural vitalization，which mainly include the obvious commercialization trend of rural tourism，the lack of ecological protection，weak development of rural tourism brands，and poor quality of tourism personnel.In response，we propose the following solutions：to focus on regional characteristics and explore key values of tourism elements； to protect ecological environment and build a solid foundation for tourism development；to develop rural tourism brands and improve tourism benefits；to strengthen the training of tourism personnel and improve tourism services.In so doing we can improve the effect of rural tourism promoting rural vitalization and accelerate the realization of the strategic goal of Rural Vitalization in ethnic minority regions.