Can website information be a constraint for people with physical disabilities? Assessing an index of national parks’ website content quality and efficiency

Authors

  • Maria-José Aguilar-Carrasco Department of Urbanism, School of Civil Engineer at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: maagcar@aaa.upv.es https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9356-6692
  • Eric Gielen Department of Urbanism, School of Civil Engineer at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: egielen@urb.upv.es https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4591-2914
  • Maria Vallés-Planells Department of Agrifood and Rural Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, and the Environment at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: convalpl@agf.upv.es https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5932-0485
  • Francisco Galiana Department of Agrifood and Rural Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, and the Environment at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: fgaliana@agf.upv.es https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7897-6538

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v38i.3298

Keywords:

Accessibility; Constraints; Communicative efficiency; Nature-based recreation; National park; People with mobility/motor disabilities.

Abstract

Internet communication and technologies are invaluable resources to plan nature-based recreation. However, their effectiveness for people with disabilities is limited if their specific informational needs are not adequately addressed. The aim of our research is to investigate and quantify the communicative efficiency of the national parks’ websites. To do so, we provide a tool to enhance the parks' website to increase access to the outdoors for the population evaluated in this paper. The proposed framework combines a Website Accessibility Information Quality Index (WAIQI) and the assessment of the URL’s search engine optimization. The case study shows that there is an information bias that keeps people with disabilities from equally enjoying Spanish national parks. Recommendations are suggested to improve website information to also cover the needs of all intersectional realities to facilitate user decision-making and encourage them to visit the parks.

Author Biographies

Eric Gielen, Department of Urbanism, School of Civil Engineer at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: egielen@urb.upv.es

  • Ph.D. Eric Gielen

 Email: egielen@urb.upv.es

Teaching and Research interests:

GIS and Land Planning. Regional Planning Issues. Land Hazard Risk, Urban Sprawl, Urban mobility, Climate Change Cities Adaptation, and Mitigation.

Maria Vallés-Planells, Department of Agrifood and Rural Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, and the Environment at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: convalpl@agf.upv.es

  • Ph.D. Maria Vallés Planells

 Email: convalpl@agf.upv.es

Teaching and Research interests:

Landscape Cultural Services, Assessment, and Resilience. Public Participatory Techniques, and Urban Green Infrastructure.

Francisco Galiana, Department of Agrifood and Rural Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, and the Environment at Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain. Email: fgaliana@agf.upv.es

  • Francisco Galiana Galan

 Email: fgaliana@agf.upv.es

Teaching and Research interests:

Landscape Planning and Environmental Resource Management, Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management, Landscape Services, and Climate Change Landscape Adaptation.

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Published

2024-08-01

How to Cite

Aguilar-Carrasco, M.-J., Gielen, E., Vallés-Planells, M. ., & Galiana, F. . (2024). Can website information be a constraint for people with physical disabilities? Assessing an index of national parks’ website content quality and efficiency. European Journal of Tourism Research, 38, 3803. https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v38i.3298