Tourism Administration - Search the Internet to find the input

Section 2: Disciplines and Areas of Study

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Tourism Administration 109 related to the sector’s earnings, for example. These

data can be taken from tourism companies (either in isolation or as a group). By controlling these data, it is possible to identify whether growth, stag- nation or a recession is occurring based on what was planned. This control allows a new decision to be made with a greater level of certainty.

As an example of the topic, Navickas and Malakauskaite (2015) studied the possibilities for identifying and evaluating competitive factors in the tourism sector; this study was similar to that of Dupeyras and MacCallum (2013), who also researched indicators to measure competitiveness in the industry. Other studies can be considered more specific, such as that of Yap and Allen (2011), who sought to identify which indicators influenced domestic tourism demand in Australia.

Obviously, many other forms of control are seen within the activities of managing destinations and tourism businesses. In general, competitiveness and sustainability were the two most frequently encountered topics.

Administrative Areas

Every organization, be it a hotel, an airline or a government tourism agency, has administrative areas to better perform its planning, organization, direction and control functions. An organization’s primary administrative areas can be listed as fol- lows: production, finances, materials and logistics, marketing, sales, personnel management and strategy. Other entries in this book present the issues of finances, marketing and materials in more detail.

This administration section will thus address the areas of personnel management, quality management, innovation management and strategic management.

The first of these concerns tourism personnel: the employees of destinations and tourism businesses.

Much of what is studied on the issue of personnel management in tourism concerns turnover in the sector, worker satisfaction and leadership. Turnover is very high in the tourism sector. Studies indicate that this occurs because of work hours, days and schedules, satisfaction issues, low wages, seasonal- ity and the low need for training to serve in this sector, which thus attracts casual workers. In discussions on tourism personnel, these points emerge and enable numerous strands of thought and dis- cussion. For administrators, they are problems that must be solved in a planned way so that they can

understand personnel as an administrative resource, motivating them and encouraging them to work well.

These issues are also present in studies on job satisfaction; authors such as Chang et al. (2011) and Nadiri and Tanova (2010) have investigated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover. Ineson and Berechet (2011) studied the experience of Romanian employees in relation to turnover, and Panwar et al. (2012) studied the relationship between a long working day and low wages.

Leadership has also been a frequently discussed topic in the area of personnel management, pre- cisely because it provides the hope of properly managing all tourism resources, especially human resources. Valente et al. (2014) investigated leadership skills in two Brazilian tourist regions, finding that four themes emerged: the ability to produce results, the ability to mobilize followers, the articulation and communication of goals and actions, and the articulation of roles and responsibilities. In another study, Valente et al. (2015) found that good governance aids leadership skills, although the two concepts are not synonymous.

Quality Management – Servqual The Servqual (service quality) method developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985) is a technique that can be used to analyse the differences between the service quality provided by a company and the service quality expected by the customer. Although there are many models and techniques used by dif- ferent service companies for quality and customer satisfaction in tourism, Servqual has frequently been employed.

Servqual is an empirical method that can be used to improve the quality of service provided. It involves developing an understanding of customers’ needs for a particular service that is provided to them. These perceptions are compared with an organization that is considered ‘excellent’. The dif- ference between these two values results in the objectives that the organization must achieve to improve the quality of its services (Fig. 32).

Because Servqual considers customer perceptions for the relative importance of various service attributes, it is thus possible for organizations to prioritize those that need more attention. This information is collected through surveys with a sample of customers.

110 Chapter 2.15 The original methodology proposed ten dimen-

sions for service quality:

1. Access: ease of contact.

2. Competence: having the skills and knowledge necessary to provide the service.

3. Communication: listening to customers and acknowledging their comments, keeping the customer informed in a language they can understand.

4. Knowing the customer: making an effort to understand customers and their needs.

5. Reliability: having the ability to perform the promised service accurately.

6. Courtesy: manifested as the staff’s politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness.

7. Credibility: inspiring honesty and reliability in the service provider.

8. Responsiveness: expressing the willingness to help customers and providing prompt service.

9. Security: free of dangers, risks or concerns.

10. Tangibles: caring for the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials.

In 1988, the authors refined the model to include only five dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles (Parasuraman et al., 1988).

Dissatisfaction with service is caused by a gap between customer expectations and perceived service quality. Five types of gap can be identified in service delivery:

1. Between customer expectations and manage- ment perception: here there may be gaps between what the customer expects the service quality to be and what the provider thinks the service quality should be.

2. Between management perception of customer expectations and the service quality specification presented by the company: the gap that may exist here involves setting parameters for service quality to exceed customer expectations and comport with management perceptions.

3. Between service quality specification and service delivery: even if the company develops a manual so that services are provided in accordance with certain criteria, the delivery of high-quality service is not always a certainty. Employees have a high degree of participation in service delivery and their performance often cannot be measured. For example, how can you measure a hotel employee’s good mood?

4. Between service delivery and external commu- nication: this is usually one of the largest problems encountered because companies often have such a great desire to attract a customer that they exag- gerate the quality of their products in their external communications, which creates customer frustra- tion when they realize that the service is not exactly what was advertised. A typical case is that of airline companies, whose advertisements invariably show situations in which flights are not crowded and flight attendants are always friendly, which does not nec- essarily occur on a day-to-day basis.

Recommendations Personal needs

Prior experiences

Ten dimensions of service quality (see list below)

Service expectation (SE)

Service perception (SP)

Perception of service quality 1. Expectation exceeded:

SE < SP

2. Expectation met: SE = SP 3. Expectation not met:

SE > SP

Fig. 32. Determinants of perceived service quality. (Adapted from Parasuraman et al., 1985.)

Tourism Administration 111 5. Between expected service and experienced ser-

vice: companies must ensure that the service provided will at least meet – if not exceed – customer expectations.

Mondo’s (2014) study included a table of the primary quality models used; he found that the Servqual (Parasuraman et al. 1988), Servperf (service performance; Cronin and Taylor, 1992), Grönroos (1984) and Brady and Cronin (2001) models are the most used, in that order. Mondo (2014) also developed a specific model to evaluate the quality of tourism destinations, attractions and events, validating his protocol in Brazil and allow- ing tourism managers to use it to improve their services. The TOURQUAL protocol (Mondo, 2014) comprises a theoretical diagram with six categories of analysis (Fig. 33) and a list of quality indicators (Table 11).

The access category is the first set of indicators related to the tourist’s contact with the attraction or service provider. It is composed of the following indicators: accessibility/location, accessibility for people with disabilities, access to restrooms, wait for the service, ease of purchase and business hours.

This category refers to the indicators that allow the tourist to arrive at the attraction and enjoy it satisfactorily.

The environment category considers the atmos- phere of the service that the tourist finds at the attraction. According to Bitner (1992), the effect of the environment or the physical design and deco- rative elements are recognized by customers and employees, marketing, retail and service managers.

However, particularly in marketing, there is a surprising lack of empirical research or theoreti- cally based structures that address the physical environment’s role in consumer environments.

Environmental management is also important for quality. A well-arranged theatre with sound and temperature equipment and other environmental indicators makes the tourist feel comfortable. This indicator thus refers to a more subjective question of the location’s comfort and enjoyment in being at the location.

The human element category considers indicators regarding the relationship between the tourist and service provider. When Parasuraman et al.

(1988) developed Servqual, they focused primarily on the human aspects of service delivery because confidence, responsiveness and empathy are primarily human dimensions. Bitner (1990) observed that in service encounters, employee behaviour will impact customer service quality perceptions. Companies thus must train their employees in interpersonal skills to present a true focus on the customer. Mills and Morris (1986), Schneider and Bowen (1992) and Stebbing (1993) emphasized the role of human aspects in service delivery.

Some empirical research shows that a human dimension is necessary to measure service quality.

Donavan and Hocutt (2001) studied 219 restau- rant customers, finding that the perception of behaviours aimed at the customer by the employee was positively related to two results: (i) customer satisfaction with the service encounter; and (ii) customer commitment to the company. Banwani

Access Environment

Security Experience

Human element

Technical quality Other

external factors

Fig. 33. The TOURQUAL theoretical model of categories. (From Mondo, 2014.)

112 Chapter 2.15 and Lassan (1996) studied data from 233 adult

customers to analyse personalization and the social content of interactions between service or retail employees and their customers. They found that personalization emerged as the most important determinant of service quality and customer satisfaction. In this TOURQUAL category (Mondo, 2014), the following indicators are present: service presentation, attention, service, confidence and employee expertise.

The experience category takes into account experiences at the tourism destination and should be considered when measuring the service quality of attractions at that destination. When Pine and Gilmore (1999) defined the experience economy, they produced four dimensions that can be experienced by the customer/tourist, which have become indicators in the TOURQUAL model: entertainment, escapism or escaping from routine, aesthetics and learning.

The security category, which is a single indicator, refers to the security issues perceived by the customer

during consumption of the tourist attraction. This category includes both physical and psychological security.

Finally, the technical quality category, as described by Grönroos (1984), is the quality of what the customer actually receives as a result of their interaction with the service company; it is important for the customer and their evaluation. In this model, the technical quality category represents all of the indicators of the service delivery itself, excluding those involving the human element, which already have their own category. Good service, reasonable cost with no effect on quality (price), climate conditions, infrastructure, internal signs, technology at the attraction, cleanliness, the variety of activities and carrying capacity are the indicators of this category.

The third construct of the TOURQUAL model is the evaluation questionnaire. It has some introduc- tory questions to establish filters (city visited, if there was contact with guides or attendants when visiting), and an identification of the actual quality of the service indicators at the attraction, all using a five-point Likert scale (bad, poor, fair, good or excellent) and ending with the respondent’s demo- graphic profile.

Innovation Management in Tourism A theme that has been gaining ground in tourism research and within the administration of destinations and enterprises is innovation and technology.

With globalization, the Internet, mobile devices and the power given to the user/tourist, configurations for managing tourism destinations, attractions and businesses have been changing continuously.

Research in tourism has considered the creation of technology clusters or local systems of innovation in tourism, such as those studied by Weidenfeld and Hall (2014), who discussed regional and sectoral concepts of innovation for tourism and tourism’s contribution to understanding them. They ques- tioned the extent to which tourism can be considered an integral part of territorial innovation systems and suggested some political implications and key issues for future studies. Furthermore, much has been studied on innovative tourism destinations, bringing the area of tourism closer to computer engineering, information systems, knowledge management and even engineering (mechani- cal, electronic and electrical).

In practice, the use of free Internet at destinations, the implementation of mobile tourist guide Table 11. Quality indicators used in the TOURQUAL

model. (From Mondo, 2014.)

Dimension Indicator

Access Accessibility/location Accessibility for people with

disabilities Accessible restrooms Wait for service Ease of purchase Business hours Environment Temperature/acoustics

Comfortable and inviting space Human element Customer service presentation

Attention Service Confidence Knowledge

Experience Learning

Entertainment Aesthetics Evasion

Security Security

Technical quality Price

Climate conditions

Maintenance (equipment and facilities)

Signs Technology Cleanliness Carrying capacity Variety of activities

Tourism Administration 113 applications, the use of informational placards, the

use of online maps and the management of user- generated data are some of the potential uses of technology and innovation in tourism today.

For example, using a city guide mobile app, the tourist can now be asked to share their location.

Using these data, the destination’s management can identify the path taken by tourists in the city, verify- ing the primary routes of mobility, primary attractions visited and even, at the regional level, the restaurants or accommodations visited. For the destination’s management, there are more data available for planning and managing activity.

Thus, the topic of technology and innovation is no longer considered a trend in the study or practice of managing tourism destinations: it has become a permanent fixture of these discussions.

Strategic Management in Tourism Strategic management in tourism considers the general strategic management models used in organizations, as adapted to tourist businesses and destinations. One of the most widely used models in the business world is that of Porter (2008), called Porter’s competitive advantage model or five forces model. Porter argued that, for an organization to have a competitive advantage in the market, it must consider five forces: suppliers’ bargaining power, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products, customers’ bargaining power and rivalry among competitors. These forces must be con- stantly studied, and any change should be an input for the beginning of a new strategic analysis.

Crouch and Ritchie (1999) created a specific model of competitiveness in tourism, relating social prosperity to a framework of competitiveness in tourism. Another model commonly used in studies on strategic management is the resource-based view model (Barney, 1991), which treats the organization as a set of resources (e.g. financial, human, material); the strategy lies in how best to use available resources to achieve greater competitiveness.

Other authors have developed research and produced publications in the area of strategic management, such as Evans et al. (2012), in the book Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism;

Tribe (2010), in the book Strategy for Tourism; and Harrington and Ottenbacher (2011), who con- ducted a study analysing the representation and study focus of publications on the topic of strategic management.

When referring to strategic management, it is necessary to understand that this area of administration exists to trace avenues that organizations can use to reach their objectives. Thus, tourism destinations and businesses can use these or other strategic tools to develop projects and actions encompassing the entire administrative area.

Tourism administration is considered both mul- tifaceted and broad. Tourism researchers and managers can choose diverse areas for working on their projects, starting from administrative functions such as tourism planning or control of sustainability indicators; passing through administrative areas such as tourism marketing, destination marketing, materials management in tourism, quality management at the destination or business, or personnel management in tourism or finances; and ending with more current topics such as strategic management and destination competitiveness or technology management or innovation in tourism.

Operationalizing

Karassawa (2003) applied the Servqual methodology to evaluate the quality of tourist services provided by one of the leading tour operators in Brazil.

Instead of using the ten dimensions for service quality originally proposed by Parasuraman et al.

(1985), he reduced them to five dimensions, as previously proposed by the same authors. The five new dimensions were: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness (these three are identical to the original model), suitability (encompassing the dimensions of competence, courtesy, credibility and security) and empathy (which brought together accessibility, communication and customer knowledge).

The author then developed three questionnaires to be answered by tourists who were using a tour package from the operator being studied. The first, with only five statements, asked the tourist to evaluate the importance of the five dimensions considered: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, suitability and empathy. The second and third questionnaires were very similar and contained 22 service items that were related to the five dimensions. Whereas the second questionnaire abstractly measured service expectation (SE) in terms of the importance of a particular service item (e.g. ‘excellent tour operators should communicate to customers exactly when the services can be delivered’), the third questionnaire evaluated service perception (SP), e.g.

‘tour operator X communicates to customers

114 Chapter 2.15 exactly when the services can be delivered’. The

three questionnaires used the Likert scale, wherein the respondent chooses a score from 1 to 5 to evaluate the statement made.

Exercise

Imagine that you are the manager of a tourist attraction or destination. To diagnose the current situation, based on planning and control, you must list the strengths and weaknesses of your business.

Quality can be based on both management and the tourist’s perception. Choose a tourist attraction and carry out this analysis.

1. How can access to the attraction be evaluated

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