Customer satisfaction in tourism. How to measure it?

Measuring customer satisfaction is indispensable nowadays, for public organizations, to verify if they are doing the right thing. The position of a public institution is not always easy, because of the nature of the client on the one hand and the public, on the other hand. Citizens / customers have different faces and different roles; sometimes they are customers service and sometimes behave as citizens, especially when they have to pay taxes or comply with certain rules. This is reflected also in differences between the provision of public services and the provision of services in the private sector. In addition, most public sector organizations are providing services. Services have some clear characteristics that make them special and different as products, therefore, customer satisfaction measurement is vital for the development and continuity of services, especially in tourism. Service-quality studies in the tourism and hospitality industry are important in identifying the factors that determine visitors’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The present article focuses on measuring the tourist satisfaction with a destination and the specific methodology.

Keywords

satisfaction, tourism, hospitality, service quality, perception, measurement

JEL Classification

L83, E01, R40

References

Anderson, E. W. (1998). Customer satisfaction and word of mouth. [Journal not specified], 5–17.

Bansal, H. S., & Voyer, P. A. (2000). Word-of-mouth processes within a service purchase decision context. [Journal not specified], 166–177.

Grönroos, C. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18(4), 36–44.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). A conceptual model of service quality: Customer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing.

Wong, J., & Law, R. (2003). [Article title not specified]. Tourism Management, 401–410.

Measuring customer satisfaction: The key to reach a high quality of the hotel services for a sustainable tourism. (n.d.).

Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1990). Five imperatives for improving service quality. Sloan Management Review, 29–38.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Berry, L. L. (1990). Delivering quality service: Balancing customers’ perceptions and expectations.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Berry, L. L. (1993). The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service. [Journal not specified], 1–12.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Berry, L. L. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 31–46.