The information support for a barrier-free environment in urban cultural objects in excursion tourism development: the case of Gorky Park

The development of a barrier-free environment for people with limited mobility is an urgent task for any tourist space, including urban cultural sites. The information about condition and capabilities for low-mobility people is among the important parameters of this environment. Such people begin visiting any excursion sites and spaces by studying their official websites to obtain detailed information about all the possibilities of a barrier-free environment. But analyses of seven websites of cultural and excursion institutions in Moscow shows the lack of such information. Therefore, for organizations and institutions of culture, recreation and leisure, it is important to provide complete, detailed, comprehensive, and at the same time easily accessible information for low-mobility people on official websites. To assess the completeness and quality of information on the websites, the authors have defined criteria and developed a special checklist presented in the article. To illustrate the mechanism of adapting information on official website of the cultural institutions and excursion tourism centers for low-mobility people we have analyzed and implemented basic principles on the official website of the M. Gorky Moscow Park of Culture and Leisure. Particularly, we have developed the page “Barrier-free environment in Gorky Park” for the official website, the special thematic “Accessibility Map of the Ground Floor of Gorky Park”, as well as the excursion route “Gorky Park without Borders”. All of this is an example of structuring and presenting the necessary information, as well as developing an excursion product for low-mobility people.