Title: Web information, accessibility and museum ownership

Authors: Andrea Mangani; Luca Bassi

Addresses: Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, Via Serafini 3 56126, Pisa, Italy ' Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, Via Serafini 3 56126, Pisa, Italy

Abstract: When planning a holiday, the pre-trip phase is crucial for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their families. The potential of the World Wide Web to disseminate information devoted to PWDs and regarding the accessibility of tourism attractions is great. However, the propensity to disseminate information online varies depending on the type of organisation. This paper assesses the impact of the ownership of museums in Tuscany (central Italy) on whether a museum has online information specifically for PWDs. Tuscany is a frequent destination for domestic and foreign tourists and the online communication of museums addresses a large and heterogeneous audience. The empirical analysis shows that public museums tend to deliver more information for PWDs, compared to private and ecclesiastical museums.

Keywords: accessible tourism; disability; social inclusion; web marketing; websites.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2019.105486

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2019 Vol.9 No.4, pp.265 - 281

Received: 22 Jan 2019
Accepted: 17 Oct 2019

Published online: 02 Mar 2020 *

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