Paper Title
Mountaineering on The Greater Antilles: a chance for regional development of an inland community. The case of cuba

Abstract
Mass tourism in the Caribbean began in the mid–20th. Today, when thinking about the Caribbean, all have on mind the 3S (Sun, Sand, and Sea), and some also 3E (Education, Excitement, Entertainment). Unfortunately, an increasing competition and a change in the motivation of tourists now forces authorities managing regions to introduce new tourism offer, not based directly on neither the 3S nor 3E model. With a better or worse result, the Caribbean authorities are looking to the new types of tourists, like those thrill-seeking ones. Here we will focus on one kind of adventure tourism, namely on a mountaineering – defended as a climbing (which refers to adventure climbing or sports climbing) and trekking (hill walking in 'exotic' places). Mountaineering has long been considered a means of achieving economic and social development, especially in mountainous regions of poor, traditional and developing countries (Global South). Mountains on the Greater Antilles, like those on Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Jamaica have a tremendous potential. Thus, mountaineering may be considered as one of a key contributor to development, prosperity, and well-being of all stakeholders, especially for an inland community. However, making these mountain areas accessible for tourists is critical for developing a viable local tourism industry. This paper examines a potential of mountaineering on Cuba by verifying its accessibility for tourists. The assessment was based on a framework of the true accessibility, which consists of two factors: (1) destination accessibility (the transport system and in situ services) and (2) real access (social, economic, weather, psychophysical environments, and accessibility regarding mountaineering carrying capacity). The level of mountaineering accessibility is critical for developing a viable local tourism industry. These improvements have the potential to contribute to the economic and social development of mountain regions by attracting mountaineers when they choose their destination. Accessibility, Caribbean, Cuba, Development, Mountaineering.