Karavanke offer various possibilities to their visitors, locals and entrepreneurs.
People have lived in the Karavanke region for centuries. The oldest evidence of prehistoric inhabitants offers Jamnikov spodmol in Kočna near the town of Jesenice where a bone harpoon from the Middle Stone Age was found. Despite harsh conditions for economic development, hunting was followed by farming and forestry, and, at a later period, by mining and iron industry. Nowadays, the natural and cultural heritage of the region has a significant effect on the positive development of tourism.
However, the region's economic and touristic development has also had a negative effect on the delicate Alpine environment and the cultural heritage. The rising number of visitors and tourists, motor vehicle traffic, road construction and tourist routes expansion represent a serious threat to clean water resources, forests and to numerous animal and plant species. That is why those responsible for land use and development will have to keep in mind what is acceptable for the environment and respect the principles of sustainable development.