Tourism service quality improvement – ‘the early bird catches the worm’

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to build an integrated important-performance and gap analysis-quality function deployment (IPGA-QFD) model with outperforming service quality improvement capabilities in (1) identifying key service failures and (2) seeking the most effective recovery solutions that can handle numerous existing key failures to meet customer demands at the highest level regarding travel agencies' internal management, network service, and local tour leaders. For data collection, survey questionnaires were sent to customers in Northern Taiwan using modified versions of the SERVQUAL, E-S-QUAL, and E-RecS-QUAL measurement scales. 305 valid responses of 400 distributed questionnaires were obtained (76.25%). The findings effectively point out key service failures and the most efficient improvement solutions. Travel agencies should take these findings into account when attempting to enhance overall performance and customer loyalty. This study is the first to integrate and modify the IPGA and QFD concepts to provide academicians and practitioners with an innovative method and useful guidelines for promoting service quality and sustainable competitiveness.

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