Quality management in tourism: Illusion or opportunity?

Abstract

This review article seeks to answer the question of whether one can define a minimal and required set of criteria (dimensions, indicators) to measure the quality of tourism services. The selected metrics should fulfil the expectations of all actors in the tourism industry, primarily the management, employees and tourists. The tourism industry brings up a variety of ideas for quality management, expressible through quantitative and qualitative indicators. There is often a dilemma of which set of indicators to choose. We have applied numerous different citations and quotations of theoretical and practical sources in the area of quality metrics. We come to realize that the focus of the concept of monitoring the quality of services in tourism shifts from the user of services to the employees. The answer lies in the fact that only a happy and successful worker in the tourism industry can provide an adequate service that tourists perceive as excellent.

Keywords

• quality metrics
• human resources in tourism
• quality management
• services
• expert system