Yes, it can.
I am myself in a long distance relationship and have been for 16 months now - first in Japan with 1000km between us, now in 2 different European countries. I started a topic about it a little while ago
here.
The challenges of a long distance relationship are different to those of an in person relationship, as you can probably imagine very well. But the advantages are also different. It will allow you to benefit from a committed love life while enjoying and growing from independence. It will push you to have life-defining conversations, to discuss your values, long term goals, dreams and aspirations very early on, and find out if they are compatible. It will require you to be honest with yourself, open with your partner and a great communicator - all necessary bases for a good relationship, but that can unfortunately be avoided for a long time in person. It will develop your sexual creativity, as it is tricky to be intimate with an ocean between you...
Many couples go through a distance period at some point in their lives - think of military families, for example. And the only statistics I could find show that long distance couples do not break up at a higher rate than in person ones.
I'd be happy to answer if you have more questions on the topic. Good luck!