Meeting the on-line needs of disabled tourists: an assessment of UK-based hotel websites.

The easy exchange of rich information between often geographically dispersed parties is an important precursor of successful tourism transactions. Internet-based technologies, in particular the World Wide Web, offer possibilities to both buyers and sellers to exchange information without the constraints of geography and time diminishing its richness. The disabled, representing a significant part of any marketplace, may, however, have difficulties accessing the content of the Web and therefore sharing the benefits of rich information exchange. This is the principal concern of ‘Web content accessibility’. Focusing on the tourism sector, in particular UK-based hotels, this paper examines the accessibility of their websites. However, recognising that it is not just access to information that is important for the disabled, but also the quality of that information, the paper also examines the extent to which the information contained on websites serves their particular needs. Utilising the accessibility testing software ‘Bobby’, disappointingly low levels of Web content accessibility were found amongst the sample of websites. Against a framework of information needs developed from criteria provided by disability organisations, the sample also revealed disappointingly low levels of specific (relevant) information for the disabled. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]