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Measuring Service Quality Using SERVQUAL Method In Tourism And Hospitality

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Preprint · December 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11440.79361

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 Measuring Service Quality Using SERVQUAL Method In Tourism And
Hospitality Industry
Mrs/Yasmine Elsayeh

MSc in Tourism studies

Faculty Of Tourism And Hotels, Alexandria University, Egypt

Abstract

The expansion and diversification of the tourism industry make it the fastest growing sector of
the global economy (Ţîţu , Răulea & Ştefan, 2016). The Annual Report of the World Tourism
Organization indicates that tourism increased in 2018 by 6% over 2017 (Ostrega, Kowalska & Anna,
2020). Despite this, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has introduced some global challenges in 2020,
during which over 90% of the world population was affected by international travel bans (Gössling, Scott
& Hall, 2020). However, due to the highly competitive market, managers of tourism and hospitality
institutions must face the growing requirements of their customers. So, it necessary to ensure constant
performance and continually improve quality.
The paper examines the SERVQUAL method to assess the quality of tourist services as a theoretical
instrument to measure overall visitor satisfaction. The findings indicate that the appropriately modified
SERVQUAL methodology is a valuable and simple tool to evaluate customer satisfaction.

Keywords: Service Quality; Hospitality Industry; Tourism; SERVQUAL.

1. INTRODUCTION

Tourism is one of the top and fastest growing sectors in the world; it plays a very important role in the
economy and stimulated the growth of other economy (Osman & Sentosa, 2013). The increasing role of
the tourism industry in the global economy and the growing competition makes costs and prices have
been reduced significantly and profit margins have gone down. In response, the tourism and hospitality
industry have started to focus on service quality to differentiate them by providing value-added products
and maintain their customers numbers and competitive edge.

So, Measuring Service Quality in tourism and hospitality Industry is very crucial. Because it lead to a
strong bonding between tourism and hospitality organizations and their customers (Sharma, Kalotra &
Nitya, 2017).The perceptions of consumers regarding the service quality of tourism and hospitality
services depends on the level of satisfaction they derive from a particular service provider (Wessley,2002)
(Mohammed, Wafik, Abdel jalil, Abu El Hassan, 2016). According to Kotler customers’ expectations and
perception about quality will decides about, what the service provider should offer, and how the service
provider should actually deliver to meet the expectations of customers (Mmutle, 2017). Service quality is
the most important tool to attract and retain customers (Venetis & Ghauri, 2004)

The aim of the study is to verify the SERVQUAL method as a tool for assessing the quality of tourism
and hospitality services by demonstrating different case studies.

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2. Literature review

2.1 Service Quality

Service quality is defined as what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for” rather than “what the
supplier puts in (Ducker, 1991). In some earlier studies, service quality has been defined to the extent
where the service fulfils the needs or expectation of the customers (Dotchin & Oakland, 1994). While
Zeithaml et al. (1996) has conceptualized service quality as the overall impression of customers towards
the service weakness or supremacy. Therefore service quality frequently has been conceptualized as the
difference between the perceived services expected performance and perceived service actual
performance (Kara, Lonial, Tarim& Zaim, 2005)

2.2 Customers’ Expectations of Service Quality

Customers’ Expectations is defined as the beliefs about service delivery in the minds of customers (Coye,
2004).These authors argued that customers have different kinds of expectations for service performance
(Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). In tourism and hospitality industry customers may have many expectations
regarding the performance of services and they can compare their perceptions regarding the services
quality with their expectations. This evaluation is very important for tourism and hospitality providers too
because it explore the strengths and weaknesses of organizations and help them in gaining competitive
advantage (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). Failure to understand these gaps will lead to losing a customer to
competitors.

2.3 Perceptions of service Quality

Perceptions are always considered in relation to expectations; Perceptions are formed through customers‟
assessment of the quality of service provided by a company and whether they are satisfied with the
overall service (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2006). Zeithaml & Bitner (2003) argue that because
perceptions may shift over time and therefore it is necessary for companies to continually assess customer
perceptions.

2.4. SERVQUAL

SERVQUAL (Service Quality) is the method for assessing service quality. It was developed in the 1980s
by a team from the University of Miami led by Professor Parasuraman. Parasuraman’s model became a
starting point for theoretical and practical deliberations. The SERVQUAL authors originally identified ten
elements of service quality, but in later work, these were collapsed into five factors - reliability,
assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness (Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman, 1996).

Businesses using SERVQUAL to measure and manage service quality deploy a questionnaire that
measures both the customer expectations of service quality in terms of these five dimensions, and their
perceptions of the service they receive. When customer expectations are greater than their perceptions of
received delivery, service quality is deemed low. Thus according to Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler (2006),
“a sound measure of service quality is necessary for identifying the aspects of service needing
performance improvement, assessing how much improvement is needed on model was developed to
measure customers’ evaluations of service quality (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2009).

2
Even though using this method has certain benefits, it must be pointed out that there are also some
limitations such as measuring the expectations of excellence, which sometimes does not exist, weak
discrimination between the dimensions and gap analysis not easy to generalize in terms of other areas,
Another limitation, service quality is a multi-dimensional concept which may be perceived differently by
study participants (Ostrega, 2020).

The SERVQUAL scale is designed in a form of a survey containing service attributes, grouped into the
five service quality dimensions (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2006). These dimensions are named and
described below.

 Tangibility: Appearance of physical facilities, appearance and communication of the personnel in

the service process and type of equipment provided in the service process.
 Reliability: The ability of an organization to do a task or service as promised is called as
reliability.
 Responsiveness: The willingness of service provider to help the customers, Making an effort
sincerely to provide prompt service to customers.
 Assurance: Ability of service provider to give a sense of trust and security to the customers.
 Empathy: Ability of service providers to communicate with customers and provide individualized
attention to them.

Customers’ rate statements on service attribute in terms of their expectations and the perceptions
(Zeithaml, Bitner and Gremler, 2006). The level of service quality is determined by subtracting the
average score obtained from the expectations section to that obtained from the perceptions section
(Sharma, Kalotra & Nitya, 2017) the basis for this method is composed of the five gaps model that is
sometimes referred to as the GAP model (Mauri, Minazzi & Muccio1, 2013):

• Gap 1: Difference between what customers expect and what managers think they expect.
• Gap 2: Difference between the management’s perceptions of customer expectations and the quality
specification of the service
• Gap 3: Difference between service quality specifications and the actual quality.
• Gap 4: Difference between the quality of service provided and what is communicated to the customer
about the service.
• Gap 5: Difference between a customer’s expectation of the service and the perception of the
experience.

The gaps model positions the key concepts, strategies and decisions in services marketing in a manner
that begins with the customer and builds the organization. Tasks around what is needed to close the gap
between customer expectations and perceptions (Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman, 1996).Not knowing
what customers expect (Gap1), not selecting the right service designs and standards (Gap 2), not
delivering to service standards (Gap 3),and not matching performance to promises (Gap4), are the
underlying causes behind the customer gap (Gap 5). The major aim of the gaps model is to analyze the
difference between customer expectations and perceptions (Figure 1) to increase customer satisfaction;
firms first need appropriate measurement techniques for measuring and evaluating the gap between
expectations and perceptions. After receiving the service, customers compare the performance of the
service provider with their expectations which are mainly influenced by word of mouth, personal needs

3
and past experience. The performance of the service provider falls either below customer’s expectations
or above them. When expectations are high, service is perceived to be of exceptional quality and also to
be a pleasant surprise. When expectations are not met, service quality is deemed unacceptable. When
expectations are confirmed by perceived service, quality is satisfactory.

Figure 1. Model of service quality gaps

(Parasuraman et al., 1996)

3. Methodology

This paper utilizes a case study approach that combines with five case studies about the usage of
SERVQUAL model in tourism and hospitality industry. We used a case study approach for this study
because Case study research has grown in reputation as an effective tool to investigate and understand
complex issues. In addition, the data collected in this type was normally a lot richer and of greater depth
than could be found through other types of tools.

4
3.1 Using SERVQUAL model in tourism destination

Evaluation of Service Quality of Tourism Industry Based on Customer Satisfaction and

Expectation – A Case Study in Mysore (Daneshvar, 2017)

Background

This paper deals with the concept of service quality and has demonstrated the model of service quality
gaps; it aims to measure tourists’ gap between satisfaction levels of services and their preferences of the
service in Mysore. The research questions are utilized to measure the gap between expectation and
satisfaction levels of tourists about Mysore. For this purpose a questionnaire with five-point Likert scale
is applied to measure customer satisfaction. Data was obtained from 100 respondents and analyzed using
SPSS software by employing factor analysis and multiple regressions. Results indicate that there are
significant differences between overall expectations and satisfaction levels of tourists. For practitioners, it
is worth noting that International tourists are exclusively concerned with the value for money services,
while Indian tourists regard security and safety, as important factors for them to stay or revisit Mysore.

Methodology
The sample population for this research comprised of tourists who visited Mysore in March and April.
The survey was conducted over a 3-week period at five different places that are frequently visited in
Mysore and the respondents of the study were selected using judgmental sampling method. Distribution
of questionnaires was carried out only during the daytime between 11 A.M. and 4 P.M. A total sample
size of 100 was completed.

The data collection instrument consisted of a two part self-administered questionnaire. The first section of
the questionnaire was to measure the guests' expectation and satisfaction of service quality in Mysore
city. Respondents were asked to indicate the level of perceptions based on a Likert scale from one (very
low) to five (very high). The second part of the questionnaire was designed to capture the demographic
and traveling characteristics of respondents. SPSS 11.0 for windows was employed in order to access the
particular results required for the scale measurement.

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 Table1. Questionnaire analysis

Results and Conclusion

The results of the quantitative application of the SERVQUAL model in tourism industry show that the
overall expectations of guests are higher than their perception.

The paper reported that service quality is indeed an important driver of customer retention. there is
potential for improving service quality to a significant increase in rate of retention. However, where
negative price perceptions are associated with high service quality perceptions, service quality alone will
be inadequate to retain customers. The differences and similarities in tourists attribute evaluation and
customer satisfaction has been highlighted. Hospitality factor is the most influential factor in determining
the satisfaction level for both Indian and International travelers that will lead to revisit. International
tourists are more concerned with development and cultural policies in China.

3.2 Using SERVQUAL model in airline sector (Rezaei, Kothadiya, Tavasszy & Maarten,
2018)

Background

The SERVQUAL model has been applied to several airline services problems. For instance, Pakdil and
Aydın (2007) used SERVQUAL in order to measure the quality of services of a Turkish airline and found
several interesting results including ‘passengers past experience’ as the most important factor in selecting
an airline. Chou, Liu, Huang, Yih, and Han (2011) proposed a fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL model and
applied to a Taiwanese airline. They found ‘reliability and assurance’ and ‘responsiveness’ as the first two

6
important dimensions followed by ‘empathy’ and ‘tangibles’ and finally ‘flight pattern’. Basfirinci and
Mitra (2015) investigated airline service quality attributes and their effect on customer satisfaction using
the SERVQUAL and the Kano model. They collected data from Turkish and American travelers and
found that except for the tangibles dimension, the average gap score ratings of Turkish respondents were
significantly higher than that of the Americans. Another research used a modified grey relation method to
evaluate service quality of four Taiwanese airlines. They found ‘cabin service’ as the most important
factor, and ‘baggage claim’ as the least important factor for the passengers who are served by domestic
flights. Chen (2016) used SERVQUAL and ANP to select airline service quality improvement criteria for
Taiwanese airlines. The study suggest top five service quality which should be used to improve the
service quality of airline: ‘enhancement of customer relationship management’, ‘low accident rate
control’, ‘differentiated service’, ‘full support from top managers for front-line service’, and ‘access to
information about service negligence and compensation’.

Quality assessment of airline baggage handling systems using SERVQUAL method

There is another study using SERVQUAL method to assessment Quality of airline baggage handling
systems

The baggage handling system is a crucial part of ground handling operations, which significantly
contributes to the overall satisfaction of passengers. Although several studies have investigated airline
service quality, little attention has been paid to this crucial part of the system. This study proposes the
SERVQUAL model to assess the perceived quality of service for the baggage handling system. A
literature review provides a list of criteria per dimension of the SERVQUAL model. The data are
collected via a sample of passengers from different nationalities. It is found that ‘reliability’ is perceived
as the most important dimension followed by ‘responsiveness’. The ‘assurance’ criterion is third closely
followed by ‘tangibles’ and lastly ‘empathy’.

Here the main dimensions of the SERVQUAL model which are considered as the main criteria of the
problem are discussed.

- Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment and personnel are what come under the tangibles
dimension. For ground services, the variables that are important from the tangibles dimension
perspective are the cleanliness of the facilities, quality of equipment provided, modern equipment
as well as appearance of the airline crew and staff.
- Reliability: Consistent service, first time right and inspections and announcements come under
the reliability dimension. Consistent service delivery means that the same service is provided for
similar cases repetitively. First time right means that the service promised by the airline is
provided at the first opportunity. Inspections and announcements are an important attribute of this
dimension because issues like terror threats and hijacking can be averted.
- Responsiveness: The responsiveness dimension concerns the efficiency with which the service is
provided. Here, attributes like willingness to help, efficient guidance, prompt service delivery and
prompt handling of complaints/requests are included.
- Assurance: The assurance dimension has attributes like trustworthiness of crew, responsiveness
and courteousness with which the crew responds to passengers. Trustworthiness is an important
need of passengers, who hand over control of baggage to airline crew and the baggage handling

7
 system. There have been instances of theft from checked-in baggage by baggage handlers making
passengers question the crew and staff.
- Empathy: There are three attributes that come under the empathy dimension, namely personalized
attention, best interest at heart and understanding needs. Attributes below this dimension can be
hard for airlines to deliver, as service is provided to customers of different cultures.

Methodology

In total 31 questions were posed in the survey to acquire the data. The survey consists of three parts. Part
1 includes 21 questions aimed at acquiring the respondents' preferences of service quality. The answers to
the questions were recorded on 9-point scale. Part 2 contains four questions to understand the
expectations for service. The questions have five options to select from namely very low, low, medium,
high and very high. Part 3 is focused on gathering demographic information about respondents like
nationality, age, profession, times travelled by air per year and gender. The survey was sent online to
multiple people all over the world. The main focus was on getting maximum responses from China, India,
Indonesia, USA and European countries as these are all among the countries that will shape the air travel
markets in the coming 20 years (Pearce, 2014).

The final questionnaire was sent to 480 potential respondents via social media networks. After initial
cleaning of the responses we ended up with 140 completed questionnaires.

Results and Conclusion

In conclusion, this study was operationalized and valuates service quality attributes for the airline
baggage handling system. The study is unique as it provides quantitative results for a comprehensive set
of service attributes for the baggage handling system, formally supported by the SERVQUAL method.
The use of the SERVQUAL framework allows the inclusion of nontangible performance dimensions.
Starting from the initial SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and
empathy, the findings are relevant for all stakeholders of the airline industry who have an interest in
customer-centric design of baggage handling services. These include airlines, airports, handling service
providers, public authorities such as customs and baggage handling equipment designers and operators.
The results can be used to aid decisions in the (re-) design of baggage handling systems, with an aim to
improve service quality.

3.3 Using SERVQUAL Method to Assess Tourist Service Quality in tourist attraction
Example of the Silesian Museum Established on the Post-Mining Area (Ostrega, Kowalska & Anna,
2020)

Background

This paper draws attention to the necessity of conducting research on tourist attraction quality also in
post-industrial areas which have become attractive tourist sites. It is emphasised that industrial tourism is
a new yet quickly developing phenomenon in Poland, which compels managers to differentiate their
service range and improve quality standards. The paper employs the SERVQUAL method to assess the
quality of tourist services as a theoretical instrument to measure overall visitor satisfaction. The subject of
the research was the Silesian Museum. The results demonstrated that the expectations of the visitors were
not met in three cases only which suggest a very high quality of the Silesian Museum. Moreover, the

8
findings indicate that the appropriately modified SERVQUAL methodology is a valuable and simple tool
to evaluate visitor satisfaction.

Methodology

The methodological approach in this research consists of the elements presented in Figure (2).

Figure 2. Research elements

The verified SERVQUAL method was checked on the basis of the example of the Silesian Museum. A
form was developed on the basis of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. A modified questionnaire, adapted
for the specificity of the services provided by the Silesian Museum. The questionnaire was prepared on
the basis of the model attributes of the regional tourist product The division of the basic elements of
tourist attractions was maintained the entrance , front desk, souvenirs ,exhibit and catering. (The
expectation questionnaire and the perception questionnaire) which include 36 questions. This higher
number of questions makes it possible to more comprehensively assess the expectations of the visitors.

Results and Conclusion

The analysis demonstrated that the expectations of the visitors were not met in three cases only. It
suggests a very high quality of the Silesian Museum as a tourist attraction. The results of the study in
terms of expectations vs. perceptions demonstrate that virtually all elements differ significantly from the
visitors’ expectations, exceeding them (expect for “prices of souvenirs” (D = 0.07). The greatest
expectations of the visitors were associated with the “cleanliness of catering space” and the “cleanliness
of bathrooms”, i.e., aspects of secondary importance, which do not determine the success of a tourist
attraction in the long term. The greatest difference was observed as regards “amenities for people with
disabilities” (D = 0.97) and “car park” (D = 1.20).

9
3.4 Using SERVQUAL Method to Assess Medical Tourism Services (QOLIPOUR, 2018)
Background

Continuous quality improvement of the hospital services is a basic requirement of medical tourism
industry. The aim of this study was to determine the services quality of medical tourism in hospitals.
According to SERVQUAL model, service quality gap was determined by measuring the differences
between patient’s expectation and perception.

Methodology

In this cross-sectional study, the quality of hospital services were assessed in view of 250 Iraqi tourists
referred to Ahvaz private and public hospitals in 2015, Ahvaz is one of the metropolises of southern Iran
bordered by Iraq. Data were collected using a valid medical tourism SERVQUAL questionnaire (MTSQ).
This questionnaire includes 8 main dimensions with 31 items.

Table2. Questionnaire analysis

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Results and Conclusion

There was the negative gap for all dimensions of service quality in studied hospitals that providing
medical tourism services. This means that medical tourists' expectations were more than their perceptions
about quality of medical service and they were not satisfied with hospital services. In this study, tangibles
(including physical evidence) had the lowest negative gap of services quality between other dimensions.
In this dimension, there was a significant difference between perception and expectation of patients. So
Hospitals can play a key role in attracting medical tourists using advanced and standardized medical
equipment and devices. In the dimension of reliability, the service quality gap was also negative.
Reliability is one of the important dimensions of services quality. This dimension includes doing duties in
accordance with the commitments, interesting employees in doing tasks and service provision, doing
services correctly at the first visit of patients, providing the services on promised time, maintaining
records of clients accurately, and increase trust between hospitals and medical tourists . Hospitals should
improve the reliability of their services to increase patients' loyalty. In the current study, responsiveness
dimension had also negative gap in view of patients. Providing prompt service to patients is an important
element in the responsiveness and patients had more satisfaction from hospitals that determine the time of
treatment and provide prompt services.

In assurance dimension, the difference between patients’ perception and expectations of hospital service
was negative. Recently, hospitals establish quality improvement committees to control their clinical and
services quality and initial steps have been taken to quality improvements. In empathy dimension, the
difference between patients’ perception and expectations of hospital service was negative. Empathy is
considered as the main domain of quality associated with non-clinical aspect of healthcare. To reduce the
gap in empathy dimension, non-medical expectations should be developed by hospitals. This non-medical
needs include dignity, confidentiality, autonomy, and communication. There was a negative gap in
"exchange and travel facilities" dimension in view of foreign patients. The quality gap of this dimension
was negative in the public and private hospitals. Existing payment facilities in hospitals have a massive
impact on the patient satisfaction and most patients consider this item before traveling to the destination
country; therefore, it is necessary to increase exchange and travel services in the hospital. The study
showed that there was gap between patients’ perception and expectation in technical and infrastructure
facilities dimension and this dimension was unsatisfactory for medical tourists. Hospital staff had no
international experience and could not speak English and other foreign languages. To increase the foreign
patients’ confidence, only reputation and scientific knowledge of doctors and professional staff are not
enough and all aspects of professional staff should be improved. In the safety and security dimension of
medical tourism service quality, there was a negative gap between perception and expectations of
patients. Therefore, patients were not satisfied in term of hospital safety and security. Personnel behavior,
social security and communication variables were respectively the most important factors to attract
medical tourist. Appropriate prescription is one of the patients' safety strategies in hospitals. Patient safety

11
is the key indicators of hospital accreditation and quality improvement. Promoting patient's safety led to
improving hospital performance.

3.5 Using SERVQUAL model in Hospitality Industry

Using SERVQUAL model in Hospitality Industry in Delhi (Kalotra & Sharma, 2017)

Background

This research tries to know the expectations of the hospitality consumers about the services provided by
their organizations and their perceptions about the same. This study tries to analyze the responses of 1067
respondents availing hospitality services in Delhi (India) to a SERVQUAL questionnaire, and analyze the
gap between expectations and perceptions with an aim to provide a small contribution towards
improvement in these services.

Methodology

The original SERVQUAL questionnaire was adapted to study the peculiar characteristics of the services
provided by hospitality industry. The adapted questionnaire was submitted to a pilot study and with
further modifications a final questionnaire with 22 questions was devised. Questionnaire with 22
statements was applied to 1067 consumers of Delhi, who availed the hospitality service. The expectations
and perceptions of the consumers were noted on 7 point rating scale. The questionnaire was devised on
Likert scale of 1 to 7. As the scale extremities correspond to 1= totally disagree 7=totally agree, the
negative difference indicates that there is a gap between the expectations and the perception. Higher score
at the perception level is an indication a higher level of satisfaction, and lower score indicates a scope for
improvement.

The questionnaire was used to analyze the “gap‟ in the five dimensions of service quality as shown in the
table (3) and the results of the study were presented through the analysis of the data of each dimension
and its interpretation.

Results and Conclusion

The results of the 1067 questionnaires for expectations and perceptions filled by hospitality services
consumers. The scores of expectations and perceptions are nothing but the mean of each statement
calculated by SPSS. Quality Gaps were further found by subtracting consumer’s perceptions from their
expectations. Negative scores/gaps indicate that expectations are higher than the perceptions and suggest
a scope for improvement.

Table number (4) shows the scores of all the five dimensions of SERVQUAL scales. Tangible dimension
of service quality obtained an overall score of -1.01, which signifies that the expectations of consumers
are high in case of tangibles but perception is very low. The largest gap was found in statement number
three which refers to the neatness of employees. The result indicates that there should be more
improvements in infrastructure and equipment, besides this it further revealed that better working
environment and better infrastructure is a need of time. Hospitality organizations should take the issue of
neatness of their employees on priority

Statement No. Five to Nine discusses about the reliability dimension. It has received an average score of
-1.22, the second largest gap score among the entire dimensions. The expectations of consumers from
hospitality industry are high regarding the reliability of the services but their experiences says otherwise.
The largest gap was found in statement number six which refers to sincere interest in solving the

12
problems by hospitality organizations when customers have some problem. The gap score of -1.16 in this
case indicates a large scope for improvement. The organizations must seriously consider an improvement
in their attitude to solve the problem of consumers sincerely with interest and passion when they have
any.

The responsiveness dimension is discussed in statement number ten to thirteen. This dimension has
obtained a gap score of -1.23, which is the largest gap among all dimensions. This is an indication that the
perception is much below the expectations and there is a big scope for improvement. The largest gap
within the dimension is at question number ten which is regarding the consumer’s awareness about the
time of performing of services and time needed by them to avail the service delivery. The gap indicates
that the hospitality organizations must take the issue seriously and invest in training and awareness of
employees/staff.

Statement number fourteen to seventeen refers to the assurance dimension. It has received a gap score of
- 0.88, this dimension relates to the feeling of safety and security in the mind of hospitality consumers
while experiencing the services. A negative gap indicates that this dimension is important to the
consumers and the organizations needs to take measures for employees/staff awareness about their job
and behavior. Statement number fourteen in the dimension has received the highest gap score among all
the statements indicating a concern about the behavior of employees of hospitality organizations which is
reflected in the responses. Consumers are looking for a more decent and secure service experience and
hospitality industry has to consider this aspect seriously.

Statement number eighteen to twenty two discusses about empathy dimensions of service quality. It has
received the gap score of -1.04 it indicates the dissatisfactions of consumers about the punctuality and
availability of the staff at the time of need. Statement no.18 in the dimension has received the highest gap
score among all the statements which indicates that hospitality organizations will provide convenient
operating hours to their customers. Therefore organizations should improve their operational strategies so
that customers get the convenient hours to avail hospitality services.

The total average SERVQUAL gap for all the five dimensions has received negative gap score as
discussed by parasuraman et al (1991). These gaps suggests a need for improved communication within
the organization, better understanding, commitment of management, affective team work, proper goal
setting , and standardization of tasks. The result indicates a great opportunity for hospitality industry to
improve the entire service providing mechanism.

13
 Table3. Questionnaire analysis

Table4. Scores of the five dimensions

4. Conclusion
The travel and tourism industry is undergoing profound change with the emergence of global brands, new
distribution technologies, low-cost competitors, and structural changes as players merge and supply
chains are redefined. Success in tourist business depends on understanding the key factors in determining
customer satisfaction to compete intensely for a larger market shares. This can be achieved by satisfying
customers during their first visit and prolonging their stay in order to develop customer loyalty and
thereby building up the desire to revisit, In addition, the study’s results are considered to be valuable to
destination management, tourism organizations and business in evaluating the level of their current
services by applying SERVEQUAL instrument. In addition, the findings indicate that the appropriately
modified SERVQUAL methodology is a valuable and simple tool to evaluate customer satisfaction.

14
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