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Adaptation of hospitality service quality scales for marina services
Abstract
Main purpose of this study is to reveal the effects of service quality perceptions of yachtsmen on their satisfaction, repurchase, and recommendation intensions towards “Five Gold Anchors” awarded marinas in Turkey. Research was conducted in four languages on 246 yachtsmen from 19 nations. Confirmatory factor analysis is used for data purification of Marinas’ Service Quality Dimensions. Multiple regression analyses are used to test the research hypotheses. Besides putting forward a sector specific service quality instrument, results revealed significant recommendations on how to increase the degree of yachtsmen's satisfaction towards their service providers for both researchers and practitioners.
... Marinas are a preferred alternative to berthing in open waters for three main reasons: convenience, safety, and security (Swanson & Spaulding, 1990). In other words, marinas that provide convenient and high-quality services are preferable for yacht owners (Sari et al., 2016). Yacht owners not only can enjoy multiple recreation and leisure services in marina where nearby shore-side and coastline, particularly island hopping, but also make yachts replenished, repaired, and maintained. ...
... M. Hall, 2001). Yachting is defined as a special interest marine tourism or niche tourism activity that involves the use of vessels for recreation, sports, enjoyment, and the related activities of sea lovers and independent global travelers (Rhoden & Kaaristo, 2020;Sari et al., 2016). Yachting is an activity that evokes the feeling of freedom among its participants, but it is a relatively expensive recreational activity. ...
... A. Wilson et al. (2016) proposed five dimensions of the SERVQUAL methodology to measure service quality level: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The SERVQUAL method can also be used to measure marina service quality (Sari et al., 2016). On the basis of a survey of 35 yacht owners, Durukan (2004) discovered that yacht owners prioritize reliability, price, berth availability, and the degree of name recognition when choosing a marina. ...
In spite of COVID-19 struck tourism industry, the trend of yachting tourism is steadily increasing and provides a way for the tourism industry to resume after the epidemic. Marinas, a vital component of yachting tourism, deeply effects the yacht owners’ satisfactions and the coastal destinations attraction. Since the marina industry in Taiwan is still in its early stages, this study aims to identify ideal service quality standards to enhance competitiveness. With a limited cohort of 69 yacht owners in Taiwan possessing yachts exceeding 20 gross register tonnage (GRT), insights from our research, which engaged perspectives from 50 yacht owners, provide valuable understanding into their satisfaction regarding marina services in Taiwan. As the first study to explore key factors of marina service experience among yacht owners, this study applies importance-performance analysis (IPA) and Euclidean distance to provide the development strategy and improvement priority of Taiwan marina service. Overall, the result from improving IPA technique which adopted Euclidean distance reveal that yacht owners generally thought that the improvement priority of marina service quality is sewage, bilge water, and oil sludge treatment facilities, fueling facilities, high-voltage shore power facilities, land storage space. It is noteworthy that marina managers should embark on improving marina physical facilities as development strategy which highlight the performance of marina service quality for yacht owners and the improvement in those facilities can be developed to either increase the marina competition or to resume tourism industry.
... Regarding marinas, some scholarships analyze users' perceptions as valuable tools in verifying users' satisfaction levels. Yachters' perceptions are used to identify market segmentation [4] or investigate their quality perceptions' effects on their satisfaction with marina services [5]. However, there needs to be more work done in assessing perceptions and values of the landscape in marinas. ...
... Marina managers seek differentiation formulas to generate a competitive advantage and provide a recognizable image [1]. Some scholars highlight the hospitality business perspective, emphasising the need to offer an attractive atmosphere, better services, higher quality, more personalized care, greater convenience, and greater social and environmental responsibility [2][3][4][5]. Others focus their differentiation on a sustainable perspective. ...
... However, several hotspots have been found, and solutions should be solved between all parties. The high fares of services provided by the marina should be justified by excellent service provision and a high level of user satisfaction [4,5,54]. A balance should be sought between improving accessibility to the marina, the capacity of car parks, and a level of overcrowding that does not disturb the central landscape values of the marina, such as tranquility. ...
Landscape values are related to the attributes that people assign to a perceived landscape. They reflect marina user perceptions, thus representing a feedback tool for marina managers to use to verify the degree of user satisfaction. This study focused on identifying and assessing a marina's landscape values. We took Marina del Este (Granada, Spain) as a case study. We considered interviews and a questionnaire to devise methods to enhance the participation of stakeholders and users. First, the SWOT analysis from stakeholder interviews enabled us to collect management's perceptions. Second, the survey gathered the marina's landscape values, comprising 104 respondents from visitors and users. ANOVA and PCA methods were applied to check the suitability of the values. The results showed that the marina should be in keeping with an atmosphere of tranquility and well-being. Nevertheless, there was a need to improve values related to nautical tourism, such as hospitality and maintenance, dealing with the lack of space and an excess of urbanization in the surroundings. Marina managers should consider these outcomes and analyze the points of improvement to establish the causes of these disagreements and propose solutions for the established management model. The perception of stakeholders and users can enable more consensual policies with greater levels of acceptance and involvement.
... According to one of the most relevant stakeholders in the Croatian nautical tourism, Šamanović J. (2002), as cited at Knego (2019), training costs are commonly lesser than the costs of ignorance, mistakes can be highly costly and time consuming for a yacht owner as well as for the environment. Bulut et al. (2016) reported that yachting activities directly affect the quality of water, air, and noise levels. Sustainability issues in the industry are related to sewage, garbage and oil disposals, inappropriate boat operation, boat grounding, emission of substances, and anchoring (Bulut et al., 2016). ...
... Bulut et al. (2016) reported that yachting activities directly affect the quality of water, air, and noise levels. Sustainability issues in the industry are related to sewage, garbage and oil disposals, inappropriate boat operation, boat grounding, emission of substances, and anchoring (Bulut et al., 2016). Anchoring can significantly impact near-shore marine ecosystems and is related to fewer fish, destruction and less new corals, more algae growth, cloudy water, and destruction of seagrass beds (Bulut et al., 2016). ...
... Sustainability issues in the industry are related to sewage, garbage and oil disposals, inappropriate boat operation, boat grounding, emission of substances, and anchoring (Bulut et al., 2016). Anchoring can significantly impact near-shore marine ecosystems and is related to fewer fish, destruction and less new corals, more algae growth, cloudy water, and destruction of seagrass beds (Bulut et al., 2016). Nowadays, social responsibility is a fundamental quality dimension that can boost or damage an organization's reputation and, hence, customers' perceived quality of their services (Thai, 2008). ...
Purpose:With this research proposal, the author aims to reach a high standard of service quality on yacht charters by developing a string of studies to access HoQ and an Action plan matrix.
Design:It uses a modified QFD model to access HoQ and an action plan matrix in the RC charter industry.
Value: As far as the author knows, there is no other application of the Parayani et al. (2010) QFD model in the yacht charter industry.
Research limitations: When accessing the service requirements, they should be reassessed locally, regularly, and considering the human factor and consumers’ heterogeneity.
Keywords:Boat, Charter, Service Quality, Guest’s Experience, Hospitality industry, Nautical Tourism, Service designee, Service management, Management quality
Paper type:Research proposal
... Focusing on marinas' services, the major goal of a marina is to attend to boats and their seafarers, and to provide leisure for the boatmen and visitors. The nature and variety of the services provided depend on the legal framework [58,79], the land availability [35,80,81], the compatibility of associated uses [82,83], as well as the type of owner and boat catered for [35,45,84]. Thus, boaters want to understand what sort of facilities and services they will find before travelling to a marina because variety and quality of services offered are a competitive advantage and a selection factor [20,85]. ...
... The services provided have been evolving, not only by technological Focusing on marinas' services, the major goal of a marina is to attend to boats and their seafarers, and to provide leisure for the boatmen and visitors. The nature and variety of the services provided depend on the legal framework [58,79], the land availability [35,80,81], the compatibility of associated uses [82,83], as well as the type of owner and boat catered for [35,45,84]. Thus, boaters want to understand what sort of facilities and services they will find before travelling to a marina because variety and quality of services offered are a competitive advantage and a selection factor [20,85]. ...
... Nevertheless, this economic evaluation must consider both economic and non-market values because these maritime facilities have a high social value, and contribute to the enhancement of individuals' welfare [90]. The marinas are tourist elements, generally associated to nautical tourism [5,45,84,88,91,92]. They need high investment; however, they usually have slow revenue. ...
Marinas are known to be features related to nautical tourism. Nevertheless, the responsibility of managers does not lie solely on providing accurate services to boats, seafarers and visitors. Thus, an effective management should include other factors, because marinas are embodied in a singular space, with links to diverse nature. Landscape, known as the relationship between people and their environment, represents a set of these links. In this paper, we attempt to delve into the marina management and landscape. Firstly, a targeted exploration of the main issues related to the management of marinas was accomplished. Secondly, based on the previous items, a screening was carried out from a landscape viewpoint with the aim to stablish which elements of marina’s management are significant when tackling landscape. The results indicated that there is a concern with environmental aspects, specifically, on issues related to marine pollution and water quality. However, the determination of the main management-related issues, valued from a landscape perspective, may provide the main issues that need to be addressed in decision-making processes, incorporating the landscape dimension. Thus, we have attempted to understand and discuss how the landscape should be considered in marina management as a potential competitive advantage.
... Today's marinas are devoted to fulfilling nautical tourists' increasing and complex demands in a highly competitive international market (Dikeç & Töz, 2017). The growing competition combined with an exigent and articulated demand pose important challenges to marina managers; in particular, they ask for the adoption of a more marketoriented and customer-centered management approach (European Benevolo & Spinelli, 2018;Gračan, Zadel, & Pavlovi c, 2018;Heron & Juju, 2012;Jankovi c & Vlaši c, 2018;Jovanovic et al., 2013;Lam González et al., 2015;Mateos, 2010;Mikulic, Kresic, & Kozic, 2015;Payeras et al., 2011;Raviv et al., 2009;Sari, Bulut, & Pirnar, 2016;Silveira et al., 2018;Stone, 2000;Vlaši c, Poldrugovac, & Jankovi c, 2019) investigated topics related to the management and marketing of marinas, but many important aspects remain unexplored. ...
... Consequently, the analysis of the management and marketing issues of marinas-as well as the development of the segmentation technique-are carried out in accordance with the service management and marketing literature rather than with the destination management literature (Dikeç & Töz, 2017;Sari et al., 2016). ...
... However, despite a potentially vast reference literature, specific studies are missing and "the absence of a theoretical strategic model for marinas leaves marinas managers without academic guidelines relevant to their specific industry" (Raviv et al., 2009, p. 201). Many marinas lack a clear customer orientation (European Consortium for Sustainable Industrial Policy, 2015) and adequate marketing polices: little attention is paid to creating a unique value proposition (Heron & Juju, 2012); designing a rich offer of highquality technical and leisure services, including on land experiences (Lam González et al., 2015); applying revenue management policies (Jankovi c & Vlaši c, 2018;Vlaši c et al., 2019) and evaluating customer satisfaction (Mikulic et al., 2015;Sari et al., 2016). Overall, as Lam González et al. (2015) note, "generally, the nautical products and services on offer at the destinations seem to not respond to the point of view of the nautical tourists, and what they demand, which is considered the main problem in the design of the nautical offer" (p. ...
Marinas provide shelter and services for vessels and boaters. This study aims to identify market segments among marinas' customers, using a benefit segmentation approach, where the importance that pleasure boaters pay to services and features of marinas is a proxy of the benefits sought. Data from 228 boaters was collected through an online questionnaire; a PCA and cluster analysis were performed,
returning four well-distinguished segments. The benefits sought by boaters shift from tourist and people-related services to technical and boat-centered services. Such a wide range of expectations can interest marina managers and may guide them in designing appropriate marketing strategies.
... Nonostante il crescente bisogno di una riflessione concettuale su nuovi modelli di management e marketing per queste strutture, si rileva tuttora in letteratura una notevole carenza di studi, come già rilevato in passato da Raviv et al. (2009) e, più recentemente, da Jankovic´ e Vlašic´ (2018). Alcuni Autori (tra gli altri, Stone, 2000;Pencarelli e Forlani, 2007;Penco, 2008;Raviv et al., 2009;Mateos, 2010;Payeras et al., 2011;Heron e Juju, 2012;Jovanovic et al., 2013;Lam Gonzáles et al., 2015;Mikulic´ et al., 2015;Sari et al., 2016;Benevolo e Spinelli, 2019;Silveira et al., 2018;Gracˇan et al., 2018;Jankovic´ e Vlašic´, 2018;Vlašic´ et al., 2019) hanno infatti affrontato temi legati alla gestione strategica e al marketing dei marina ma numerosi aspetti restano ancora sostanzialmente inesplorati. Il presente lavoro si inserisce in questo filone di ricerca affrontando il tema della segmentazione della clientela dei marina, ad oggi quasi completamente trascurato in letteratura. ...
... Questo si traduce per molti marina nella mancanza di una cultura orientata al servizio (European Consortium for Sustainable Industrial Policy, 2015) e in un marketing management inadeguato. Poca attenzione è pertanto dedicata al disegno di una value proposition differenziata (Heron e Juju, 2012), alla predisposizione di un'offerta integrata di servizi tecnici e turistici (incluse le esperienze a terra nei dintorni del porto) (Lam González et al., 2015), alla valutazione della customer satisfaction (Mikulic´ et al., 2015;Sari et al., 2016), all'applicazione di politiche di pricing sofisticate in ottica di revenue management (Jankovic´ e Vlašic´, 2018;Vlašic´ et al., 2019). In particolare, come già rilevava Benevolo (2010), la maggior parte dei marina non implementa un adeguato processo di segmentazione di mercato. ...
... In secondo luogo -e in ragione di quanto sopra -lo studio considera esclusivamente il sistema di offerta del marina e non le sue caratteristiche localizzative o strutturali, né le caratteristiche turistiche dell'ambiente locale; fornisce quindi raccomandazioni manageriali di più diretta e immediata applicabilità poiché riferite a fattori sotto il controllo del management. In terzo luogo, vengono presi in esame sia i diportisti e turisti sia i professionisti della nautica: i risultati hanno quindi valenza più ampia rispetto a quanto proposto da studi precedenti -tra gli altri, Mikulic´ et al. (2015); Paker e Vural (2016); Sari et al. (2016) -focalizzati esclusivamente sulla componente leisure. ...
Tourist ports are the key structures for boating activities and, in particular, for nautical tourism. They are a large and fast-growing industry, especially as regards the so-called marinas, which are port infrastructures expressly built for nautical tourism. Despite the increasing relevance of marinas, literature has only very partially explored their management and marketing. In particular, little attention has been paid to the segmentation of marinas customers, leaving marinas managers without academic guidelines in this activity. To fill this gap, we approach marinas as tourism service firms – that offer an integrated system of services to boaters – and propose a benefit segmentation technique where the perceived importance of a wide set of services and features of the marina is used as a segmentation variable. The methodology is then applied in a pilot empirical study performed on a vast sample of marinas customers with an online survey. The 345 collected responses – analyzed with a principal component analysis and a clustering exercise – identify five segments of customers, well-distinguished in terms of benefits sought and, consequently, of importance paid to the various components of the marinas offer. The study shows relevant implications for both researchers and practitioners. Scholars are provided with a reflection on the role and features of marinas, especially in terms of the structure of their customer base; an innovative tool for benefit segmentation is also proposed, which may open the way to further studies in the field. Marina managers could be instead interested in the analysis of the value-creating elements of the offer of a marina; the mapping of the customer segments may also support them in the development of the marinas marketing strategies.
... Maritime tourism involves recreation and leisure at sea and all activities that tourists carry out in the coastal areas of tourist destinations including nautical activities [1,2]. This sector is considered an economic catalyst for coastal destinations, due to its high multiplier effect on employment, ease of integration into the traditional tourist offer, and the boosts it gives to the qualification of the coastlines and to innovation. ...
... Maritime tourism is considered a multifunctional tourism activity, as it covers a wide and growing number of nautical activities [23]. Maritime and nautical tourism are accepted as synonyms by various authors [2,24,25]. The multifaceted approach of the nautical activity makes it difficult to agree on a single definition [26][27][28]. ...
... Moreover, safety as well as environmental management are revealed to have a direct influence on the satisfaction of a nautical tourist [31,32]. [28] on the other side suggests that satisfaction, in the case of a marine user, is very sensitive to the perceived quality of the services provided by infrastructures, especially in high-standard marine areas [2]. ...
Maritime tourism has become a competitive opportunity for many island destinations in search of sustainable development. This article aims to analyze the hypothesis that tourist satisfaction with nautical destinations depends on the experience of previous visits to competing destinations. This hypothesis is relevant in order to ascertain the extent of potential coopetition between tourist destinations from the point of view of the consumers. This may ask for the need of cooperation within the competitive environment in which tourist destinations manage sustainability. The evidence is obtained from the case of Cape Verde, an archipelago strongly committed to the development of the nautical sector. Survey data from nautical tourists’ satisfaction visiting Cape Verde is modeled utilizing an ordinal logistic approach. Results show that tourist satisfaction with Cape Verde increases with the authenticity of the cultural experience offered by the destination, the diversity and quality of the nautical offer and the security perceived. Moreover, tourists declaring a satisfactory travel experience in other recently visited islands have higher levels of satisfaction with the nautical destination of Cape Verde. This suggests that proper strategies for nautical tourism development in these islands should not only allow tourists to discover the best cultural and local values of the destination, but also enhance their awareness of the quality of the experience provided by island competitors and, therefore establishing a benchmark for the common benefit of all island destinations becomes of interest. In this regard, coopetition strategies among islands with common interests of specialization may allow them to gain better positioning in the international nautical tourism market, and contribute to tourism development and the sustainability of the industry.
... Sailing tourism as part of nautical tourism includes various factors and specific types of tourists [4]. Hence, sailing tourism can be defined as a form of special interest tourism (SIT) [5] which involves sailboats with keels [6]. Sailing tourists are clearly different from mass tourists [7] (p. ...
... The specific characteristics of sailing tourists must also be considered [17]. They want to enjoy nature, freedom, and flexibility and have higher than average expenses [5]. Without an adequate understanding of sailing tourists' satisfaction, sailing tour providers may miss the opportunity to develop suitable excursions that meet their needs. ...
This paper examines the customers’ experience assessment with the luxury daily sailing tours in the area of the Elaphite Islands of Dubrovnik. For the purpose of this study, the influence of the entertainment opportunities, the educational opportunities, the aesthetics, and the escapism components on the customer’s experience is investigated, as well as the correlation between overall customer satisfaction and age groups of customers. The personal interview method was used for data collection. Tourists were interviewed on boats during the tours in the area of Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands, Croatia. The Pine and Gilmore experience model was used to define the main elements of their experience. The analytic hierarchy process model was used for the customers’ experience assessment. According to the results of this study, entertainment and aesthetics have greater influence than education and escapism on customer satisfaction in the age group up to 30 years. Entertainment and escapism have greater influence than education and aesthetics on customer satisfaction in the age group from 31 to 60. The interesting findings of this study are that education and aesthetics have a greater influence than entertainment and escapism for the elderly, e.g., for the customers in the age group older than 61. The highest overall satisfaction with the daily sailing tour was found among tourists in the age group up to 30 years, followed by tourists in the age group from 31 to 60 years, and the lowest satisfaction was shown by tourists who were older than 60 years. This study indicates that all the areas are important and that customer satisfaction with each component, e.g., with the entertainment, education, escapism, and aesthetic, varies according to the age group. This study also indicates that there is a correlation between the overall customer’s experience assessment of the “Elaphite Islands of Dubrovnik” daily sailing tour and customer age group.
... 1); his definition remains quite vague and not much different from the broader concept of marine tourism. Similarly, Sari et al. (2016) consider the scope of nautical tourism to include "all recreational tourist activities related with the sea" (p. 96). ...
... In particular, a vast number of contributions address the determinants of boaters' compliance with environmental protection regulations (Aipanjiguly et al., 2003;Beardmore, 2015;Cole et al., 2019;Cottrell, 2003;DeLorme et al., 2015;Diedrich et al., 2013;Flamm & Braunsberger, 2014;Gorzelany, 2004;Jett et al., 2009;Jett & Thapa, 2010;Lepoša, 2017;Terrados et al., 2012;Viana et al., 2017), while others more closely investigate the drivers of effectiveness for environmental awareness campaigns among boaters (Barry et al., 2020;Bowerman & DeLorme, 2014;Cole et al., 2016;Gray et al., 2010;La Manna & Sarà, 2019;Montes et al., 2018;Morris et al., 2007;Seekamp et al., 2016;Solér et al., 2020;Wallen & Kyle, 2018). Surprisingly less explored are potentially "core" topics in nautical tourism research, such as demand seasonality (Marušić et al., 2020), drivers (Lam-González et al., 2017, 2019aMikulić et al., 2015) and constraining factors (Jovanovic et al., 2013) for nautical tourism, satisfaction drivers for nautical services (Jang & Cho, 2018;Sari et al., 2016;Ž nidar et al., 2014), perception drivers of nautical destinations' image (Dalton et al., 2020;De León Ledesma, 2015, 2020a) and the segmentation of the marinas' customers (Paker & Vural, 2016). A group of papers explore the boaters' willingness to pay for nautical services (Lee, 2001(Lee, , 2002(Lee, , 2003a(Lee, & 2003bNeher et al., 2017Neher et al., , 2019 or to purchase a boat (Pérez-Labajos & Blanco, 2009). ...
Nautical tourism is a long established and expanding form of tourism within the wider maritime tourism industry. This study addresses the blurred boundaries of this form of tourism and propose an original definition. Then it explores economic and management related literature via a scoping review of 118 articles published in Scopus-listed journals from 2001 to 2020.
Findings confirm a growing attention to nautical tourism over the years but with relatively limited research agendas. Literature often concentrates on very specific issues while ignoring essential research areas related to the economic relevance and impact of nautical tourism, the management and marketing issue for nautical tourism firms and the traits and behaviour of nautical tourists. Research is also geographically concentrated: three-quarters of authors are affiliated with institutions in the United States, Croatia, Spain and Italy, which form also the most investigated regions. This paves the way for further studies to fill the gaps in the literature and stimulates a stronger structuring of the research field and of the community of scholars who are devoted to it.
Management implications
Policy makers and managers in nautical tourism should be aware of the boundaries and peculiarities of this form of tourism, to avoid conflict or confusion with other types of sea- and coast-related tourism. By analysing the best practices from the most developed nautical regions, they should understand the potential contribution of nautical tourism to local development and the need for a cooperative and systemic approach with local stakeholders, to foster the sustainable development of nautical destinations and firms. Industry players should also increase their knowledge of the traits of nautical tourists, to identify the segment structure of the market and provide more tailored services. Finally, the small number of studies on the management and marketing of nautical tourism firms suggests a limited dialogue between academia and practitioners: a stricter cooperation could support further exploration of these issues, with mutual benefits.
... Countermeasures and suggestions for the optimization of tourism development quality were put forward [1,[20][21][22]. Secondly, from the connotation of element quality, establishing an evaluation model to assess the development quality of tourism system elements, mainly including tourism economic quality [23], inbound tourism service quality [24,25], tourism environment quality [26], tourism experience quality [27], tourism public service quality [28], etc. Thirdly, regarding the evaluation of the development quality or level of tourism destinations, the researches mainly focused on the measurement of investment efficiency of cultural tourism industry [29], the coordinated development of culture tourism industry [30], competitiveness evaluation and regional synergy [13,31] and the integration situation of culture tourism industry [32]. ...
... Considering that the HDCT has not yet formed a unified classification standard [25,27], we use Jenks natural breaks method to divide the level of HDCT into four types: HDCT>0.460 means high level, 0.339<HDCT�0.460 ...
The Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is the leading and demonstration area for the high-quality development of culture tourism (HDCT) in China. It is of great significance to study the spatiotemporal characteristics and impact mechanism of the HDCT for revealing the internal law of HDCT and promoting the collaborative innovation of culture tourism among cities. Based on the scientific construction of the evaluation system of HDCT, this paper made a quantitative analysis of 26 cities’ HDCT by using coupling coordination degree model, Lisa spatiotemporal transition and spatial Durbin model (SDM). The results show that: The overall level of 26 cities’ HDCT shows a fluctuating upward trend, and presents a "Z" pattern in space. More than 80% of the cities are at the medium and high level. Shanghai has obvious advantages in the primacy degree. There is a significant positive spatial autocorrelation among cities with high-quality of culture tourism development. The spatial clustering and proximity of the same kind are increasing, and the radiation effect is gradually obvious. The local spatial association patterns are mainly HH and LL agglomeration, and the characteristics of polarization are gradually prominent. The local spatial correlation structure of HDCT has strong stability, the transfer inertia between types is prominent, and the overall spatial evolution is lack of integration with obvious path dependence and lock-in effect. The spatiotemporal evolution of the HDCT is a complex process under the interaction of multiple factors, and there is a significant spatial spillover effect (0.256). The level of economic development, technological innovation, professional talent allocation are the three main factors. According to the dominant factor, it can be divided into economy stabilizing type, industry optimizing type, innovation driving type and traffic impacting type. These findings have implications for local governments and tourism management departments to achieve high-quality innovative development of cultural tourism.
... Those facilities are different based on the size of the ship. The highest number of facilities, the most excellent service that can offer for onshore service [14]. ...
... Besides that, the overall weight had ranked that the service is hugely important than the other factor. Boat owners are seeking safety for their boat and equipment [14]. The marina needs to provide the security service for the boat because some of the boat owners left their boat for a long time. ...
Marina is a mooring facility or port located on a body of water that provides service for a small boat and yacht. The marinas in Malaysia are managed by private companies and few by Marine Department Malaysia. There are successful marinas in Malaysia. However, some marinas failed. This study aims to identify the factors to establish a successful marina and to identify factors that certain marina is less performed or failed. To identify the factors, the literature review and survey is performed to marina operators in Malaysia. The method used to analyse the data was the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Results showed that the identified factor are the location, services, and facility are the most important to establish the marina. The factor has a relationship with others, and the high possibility factor should be taken to establish a marina.
... The relevant research indicates that the SERVQUAL dimensions have difficulty covering all services provided (Mahapatra & Khan 2007;Ramseook-Munhurrun et al., 2013;Senol & Dagli, 2016;Latif et al., 2019) that results in insufficiency for measuring (Carman, 1990). Despite the concerns about SERVQUAL, the highlights in the literature exhibit that SERVQUAL is adaptable to measure a relevant service quality (Carman, 1990;Cronin & Taylor, 1992;Ladhari, 2008;Bazzera & Gomes, 2016;Sari et al., 2016;Latif et al., 2019). For instance, the EduQUAL for service quality at education (Mahapatra & Khan 2007), the AIRQUAL for airport service quality (Bazzera & Gomes, 2016), the MSQD for the service quality at yacht-marinas (Sari et al. 2016), the HEALTHQUAL for the healthcare services (Lee, 2017) or the MEQUAL for the service quality of management education (Verma & Prasad, 2017). ...
... Despite the concerns about SERVQUAL, the highlights in the literature exhibit that SERVQUAL is adaptable to measure a relevant service quality (Carman, 1990;Cronin & Taylor, 1992;Ladhari, 2008;Bazzera & Gomes, 2016;Sari et al., 2016;Latif et al., 2019). For instance, the EduQUAL for service quality at education (Mahapatra & Khan 2007), the AIRQUAL for airport service quality (Bazzera & Gomes, 2016), the MSQD for the service quality at yacht-marinas (Sari et al. 2016), the HEALTHQUAL for the healthcare services (Lee, 2017) or the MEQUAL for the service quality of management education (Verma & Prasad, 2017). ...
... Vilamoura nowadays is a modern seaside resort destination, known for its hotels, golf courses and marina with the capacity to accommodate yachts up to 60 meters, with 825 moorings points (RTA, 2021). The classification of marinas is done through different certification and standardization systems, such as the internationally recognized Gold Anchor Award by The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) (Sari et al., 2016). Marinas around the world hold awards from one to five gold anchors with the Vilamoura Marina becoming the first marina in Portugal to receive a 5 Gold Anchor Platinum, the highest certification. ...
Artificial reefs (AR) are essentially implemented to increase marine biodiversity, which can indirectly benefit the local ecosystem and human communities. Their presence can attract a wide range of marine organisms and promote recreational activities, attracting anglers and scuba divers, improving local tourism. The aim of this work is to analyse how the Vilamoura AR (Southern Portugal) is useful to the sustainable coastal (blue) tourism in the area. Nowadays, with the help of tools such as vessels tracking intelligence and the use of direct georeferentiation, it is possible to infer about the use of artificial reefs by analysing patterns of recreational vessels around the AR area. The application of those tools reenforced the importance of combining methodologies such as not only monitoring artificial reefs but also to have interviews with the stakeholders to better understand the recreational and blue tourism potential of the Vilamoura AR.
... Overall, sailors are sensitive to climatic conditions that constrain the performance of maritime activities and navigation (Lam-González et al., 2019). They also value security, accessibility, service quality, and the promotion of a resort-style environment in marinas (Alkier, 2019;Andres et al., 2017;Lam-González et al., 2017b;Mikulić et al., 2015;Sari et al., 2016;Yao et al., 2021). In their studies, Lam-González et al. (2017a) and Tselentis et al. (2016) concluded that green solutions lead to an increased satisfaction and higher expenditure levels of sailors in marinas, although they do not delve into specific measures. ...
‘Going green’ is still challenging in the yachting industry partly due to the lack of customer-centered approaches. This study assesses sailors' preferences and willingness to pay for green policies in marinas, in the context of other measures to increase health security and digital transformation. To do so, a choice experiment was designed through the lens of stakeholders and supported by the Delphi technique. The study is based on the marinas of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic crossing, and involved European sailors as potential users. Data confirm that sailors' utility and intention to visit marinas increase the most when ambitious green programs are in place, thereby confirming a high environmental sensitivity among them. More specifically, solar energy use, single-use plastic eradication, and waste recycling are the programs with the greatest positive impact on sailors' willingness to pay. This indicates a potential profitability and market opportunities derived from more environmental friendly practices in marinas. The study opens a new perspective to improve incentive and funding schemes and close implementation gaps in recreational ports.
... They investigated 17 components of service quality in 4 clusters, namely online banking system quality, perceived customer service quality, product quality, and banking packages, using the content analysis method. Sari et al. [43] investigated service quality in boat and small ship services. Using statistical modelling approaches, they investigated the opinions of fishermen and yachtsmen regarding the quality of services provided in marinas. ...
Modern technologies have changed human life and created a generation of customers who have different needs compared to the past. Considering Industry 4.0 and its drivers, the implementation of digital banking (DB) has faced various challenges that are caused by emerging trends. Both Industry 4.0 and DB are contemporary concepts, and decision-makers are often faced with uncertainties in their decisions regarding the implementation of DB and its indicators. For this purpose, a novel multi-criteria group decision-making approach has been developed utilizing the best–worst method (BWM) and α-cut analysis as well as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers (TFNs). By reviewing the literature and using experts’ opinions, the DB implementation criteria are determined, and considering an uncertain environment, the criteria are prioritized using the proposed method. Then, the available DB models and alternatives are examined based on the decision criteria and the importance of each criterion. This research contributes to the existing literature by identifying and prioritizing the criteria necessary for the successful implementation of DB, taking into account emerging trends and technological advances driven by Industry 4.0. Subsequently, the study prioritizes the prevalent models of DB based on these criteria. This study proposes a decision-support framework for dealing with ambiguity, lack of information, insufficient knowledge, and uncertainty in decision-making. The framework uses TFNs to account for imprecision and doubt in decision-makers’ preferences. Additionally, the study presents a fuzzy multi-criteria group decision-making approach that enables a group of experts to arrive at more reliable results. The proposed approach can help improve the quality of decision-making in complex and uncertain situations. The results of this research show that human resources, rules and regulations, and customer satisfaction are the most important criteria for implementing DB. In addition, the open, blockchain, and social banking models are the crucial models that significantly cover the implementation criteria for DB.
... The service industry is becoming more significant every day, and everybody knows that it can improve a country's economic situation, as service industries are always concerned about customer satisfaction (Sari et al., 2016;Tan et al., 2014). Service quality can be considered a source of competitive advantage and a determining factor of company success. ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technology has been employed in many parts of the hospitality and tourism industry. The present paper aims to evaluate the factors of the service quality (SERVQUAL) approach in the digital hospitality industry. The present research prioritised the SERVQUAL factors for the digital hospitality industry in Iran using the analytic network process (ANP). The data collection instrument was an ANP questionnaire, and data were collected in 2021. In the present research, five criteria and 20 sub-criteria were used for SERVQUAL in the field of digital hospitality. The most influencing criteria were intangibles, and among the sub-criteria, the most important one was mobile integrity. This study helps hospitality managers and policymakers to improve their use of digital services by emphasising the most influential factors in the hospitality industry.
... Customers get a lot of information from banks' websites. Therefore, it is significant to provide quality information on the websites of banks [50,51]. In this study, the information quality criterion was ranked first. ...
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence factors of electronic service quality (E-SQ) in the banking
industry. A combination of Analytic network process (ANP) and Fuzzy-TOSIS methods was used in this study.
ANP method was used to obtain the weight of criteria and sub-criteria and the Fuzzy TOPSIS method was used
to prioritize four state banks of Rasht city. The data collection tool is ANP and TOPSIS questionnaire. Data
collection is from October 2022 to January 2023. In the present study, 19 E-SQ sub-criteria were evaluated in
the banking industry, and the Customers' trust sub-criteria was ranked first. Also, among the four studied public
banks, Bank A1 was ranked first. Investigating the influence factors of E-SQ in the banking industry will make
bank managers more familiar with the influence factors, and managers and policymakers in this area can provide
better quality electronic services to bank customers.
... Customers get a lot of information from banks' websites. Therefore, it is significant to provide quality information on the websites of banks [50,51]. In this study, the information quality criterion was ranked first. ...
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence factors of electronic service quality (E-SQ) in the banking industry. A combination of Analytic network process (ANP) and Fuzzy-TOSIS methods was used in this study. ANP method was used to obtain the weight of criteria and sub-criteria and the Fuzzy TOPSIS method was used to prioritize four state banks of Rasht city. The data collection tool is ANP and TOPSIS questionnaire. Data collection is from October 2022 to January 2023. In the present study, 19 E-SQ sub-criteria were evaluated in the banking industry, and the Customers' trust sub-criteria was ranked first. Also, among the four studied public banks, Bank A1 was ranked first. Investigating the influence factors of E-SQ in the banking industry will make bank managers more familiar with the influence factors, and managers and policymakers in this area can provide better quality electronic services to bank customers.
... Ο θαλάσσιος τουρισμός είναι ένας από τους κλάδους της σύγχρονης τουριστικής βιομηχανίας με διαρκώς αυξανόμενο ενδιαφέρον και γρήγορους και διαρκείς ρυθμούς ανάπτυξης τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες οι οποίοι, όπως εκτιμάται, θα συνεχιστούν και μετά την εποχή της πανδημίας (Martinez-Vazquer et al., 2021;Dwyer, 2018;Diakomihalis, 2007;Orams, 1999). Ο θαλάσσιος τουρισμός περιλαμβάνει πληθώρα δραστηριοτήτων που σχετίζονται με τη 91 ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΟΣ ΧΩΡΟΤΑΞΙΚΟΣ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΚΎΠΡΟ θάλασσα, τους θαλάσσιους πόρους και τη βιοποικιλότητα, τα θαλάσσια/ναυτικά σπορ, καλύπτοντας ένα ευρύτατο φάσμα εξειδικευμένων αγορών (Martínez-Vazquez, 2020;Dwyer, 2018;Sari et al., 2016). Προς το παρόν, στη διεθνή επιστημονική βιβλιογραφία δεν έχει επιτευχθεί συναίνεση για την οριοθέτηση των τομέων του θαλάσσιου τουρισμού, με αποτέλεσμα να μην υπάρχει ένας κοινώς αποδεκτός ορισμός του. ...
Ο Θαλάσσιος Χωροταξικός Σχεδιασμός (ΘΧΣ) αποτελεί ένα από τα κύρια οριζόντια-διατομεακά εργαλεία που στηρίζουν την υλοποίηση της Ολοκληρωμένης Θαλάσσιας Πολιτικής της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Ορίζεται ως μια διαδικασία κατά την οποία οι δημόσιες αρχές αναλύουν και προβαίνουν σε χωροταξική και χρονική κατανομή των ανθρώπινων δραστηριοτήτων στις θαλάσσιες περιοχές με σκοπό την επίτευξη οικολογικών, οικονομικών και κοινωνικών στόχων.
Οι γνώσεις, η εμπειρογνωμοσύνη, οι βάσεις δεδομένων, οι καλές πρακτικές και η μεθοδολογία ΘΧΣ που αποκτήθηκαν και αναπτύχθηκαν στο ΘΑΛ-ΧΩΡ (2014-2015), κεφαλαιοποιήθηκαν και χρησιμοποιήθηκαν στο ΘΑΛ-ΧΩΡ 2 (2018-2023), το οποίο συνέβαλε σημαντικά στη συμμόρφωση των δύο κρατών με την Ευρωπαϊκή Οδηγία 2014/89/ΕΕ, με την κατάθεση προτάσεων για την κατάρτιση Θαλάσσιων Χωροταξικών Σχεδίων (ΘΧΣχ) στην Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο.
Το Στρατηγικό Διακρατικό Έργο "ΘΑΛ-ΧΩΡ 2" συγκροτείται γύρω από δύο διασυνοριακούς πόλους, τον «θεσμικό» και τον «επιστημονικό», και η συνεργασία αυτών εξασφάλισε τη δημιουργία ισχυρών συνεργειών για τη συνοχή του ΘΧΣ στη διασυνοριακή περιοχή του Προγράμματος «Ελλάδα – Κύπρος», που οικοδομείται αποκλειστικά γύρω από ένα θαλάσσιο σύνορο.
... IMI uses the term "Destination Resort Marina" for more closed and more complex marinas. It is defined as "a destination marina that is accessible from both water and land and combines embankments for visitors, accommodation and catering services, swimming pools, and other entertainment and recreational opportunities provided by the recreational atmosphere of the marina" [14]. ...
The popularity of water and coastal tourism is steadily increasing. Marinas, an essential part of water tourism activity, are complex organizations with heterogeneous business structures with numerous suppliers of various tourist services. The purpose of this research was to determine the components of marina services that are relevant for visitors of the marina in the context of sustainable water and coastal tourism. The study’s preliminary results show that the orientation towards sustainable tourism significantly influences the behavior of visitors. Consumers of marina services would like the marinas to offer more services: not only boatyard facilities, but also catering, accommodation services, safe infrastructure for children, additional entertainment, and public events.
... Paker and Vural (2016) evaluated marinas as destinations; the authors explored the Turkish marinas along the Aegean Sea from the perspective of destination marketing and employed the factor-cluster method to determine the existing segments in this market. Sari et al. (2016) considered convenience, safety, and security as the three main factors that affect marina service quality, and subsequently studied the relationship between yachtsmen's perceptions of a marina's service quality and satisfaction. Kaufmann et al. (2009) regarded the marina as a commercial entity and studied its resources and core competitiveness to improve the impact of its consumer attraction on the coastal landscape. ...
Yao, Y.; Zheng, R., and Parmak, M., 2022. Using an evaluation index system to examine the developmental potential of yachting tourism. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(6), 11951206. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The quantitative measurement and comparison of the development potential of yachting tourism to determine its development type are greatly significant to the reasonable planning and development of the yachting tourism industry. This study constructs an evaluation index system comprising elements, such as yachting tourism destination, source-market, travel, and support systems, to examine the development potential of yachting tourism. Further, the evaluation system comprehensively employs the analytic hierarchy process, as well as the entropy and cluster analysis methods, to empirically evaluate the tourism development potentials of 84 marinas in 29 coastal cities in China. The results demonstrate that the destination system comprising natural and scenic resource endowments and commercial basic conditions accounts for the core elements of regional yachting tourism development. The high potential of the marinas for yachting tourism mainly derives from the superior regional tourist market, traffic conditions, and the yacht industry foundation. Furthermore, regional development strategies comprising four potential types are also discussed to improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of yachting tourism.
... In the last few decades, marine recreation has generated a growing interest within the context of tourism and outdoor recreation, with expectations that this trend will continue [21,58]. Overall, marine recreation involves a wide range of activities related to the sea, marine resources and biodiversity, and water/nautical sports, covering a broad range of market niches [21,57,72]. Some activities in the marine environment require physical effort, a degree of skill, and/or imply a certain level of risk motivated by 'rush' attitudes -e.g. ...
Marine environments are magnets for millions of tourists and recreationalists worldwide. This study aims to assess the relationships between individuals’ sensation and risk seeking, concerns about the environment and animal rights, and their interest in engaging in marine recreation during the visit to tourist destinations. Specifically, the paper proposes a five-stage ordinal logistic model and adapts three attitudinal scales - Animal Attitude, New Environmental Paradigm and Sensation Seeking - to explain the level of interest subjects have in pursuing five marine-based activities: jet skiing, whale watching, sea kayaking, underwater observation, and snorkelling. A comprehensive analysis of 1094 responses from European frequent travellers reveals differences in the background factors that explain their dissimilar focus on one activity or another. Such differences concern preferences for the more challenging water sports, which is explained by the desire for risk and excitement, while a more focused concern for animal welfare and the environment is associated with activities that involve contact with wildlife, e.g., whale watching and snorkelling. Results deliver insights for policy decision-makers to incentivise corporate commitment to the marine environment and its biodiversity in order to meet the bio-centric attitudes of tourists and recreationists.
... Besides these hospitality service sectors, other emerging service industries such as the senior living industry (Lee & Severt, 2018) and the marine industry (Sari et al., 2016) have been paying attention to ways of evaluating service quality. ...
... Besides these hospitality service sectors, other emerging service industries such as the senior living industry (Lee & Severt, 2018) and the marine industry (Sari et al., 2016) have been paying attention to ways of evaluating service quality. ...
Background:
As the assisted living facilities (ALFs) supply expands, service quality and residents’ satisfaction become top priorities in gaining competitive advantages in the marketplace. It is important for ALF operators to understand the perceived service quality by their residents and then improve the service they provide. However, there is limited literature that focuses on exploring the residents’ perception of service quality in ALFs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the perceived service quality by residents based on the five SERVQUAL dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) in ALFs.
Method:
A qualitative approach was adopted. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. Eight participants who lived in one ALF participated in this study. Content analysis was used to identify and present the significant aspects of participants’ responses based on the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model.
Findings:
The study participants stated that the facility provided a home-like environment that made their stay in an ALF much happier and more meaningful. They also indicated a perception of high food quality through a variety of choices, offering substitutes, three meals a day, and satisfactory food. In terms of reliability, participants reported that providing a safe place and privacy made them realize the facility was dependable. Staff members showing concern and good attitudes generated participants’ perception of a sympathetic and reassuring facility. They pointed out a preference that the staff not only addressed their problems, informed them about the available activities, and responded …
... Extant online research on yacht tourism in developed countries mainly focuses on issues about impacts of yacht tourism (Alcover et al., 2011;Içemer et al., 2011;MacNeill & Wozniak, 2018;Roma et al., 2019;Stoll et al., 1988), business models of yacht companies (Battistella et al., 2018;Sherman et al., 2008), personnel development, and evaluation in yacht companies (Cha et al., 2013;Koenigsfeld et al., 2012;Paker & Gök, 2021;Sari et al., 2016;Yorulmaz & Sevinc, 2021), tourists' yacht tourism experience (Lam González et al., 2015;Mikulić et al., 2015;Tseng et al., 2009). However, research on the antecedents for yacht tourism development at a regional level seems to be less discussed. ...
The yacht industry is one of the leading industries used to guide residents’ increase in consumption. This study analyzes the evolving spatial pattern of yacht clubs in the United States from 1900-2017, aiming to explore the developmental trajectory of yacht clubs in the United States. This study finds that: 1) Yacht clubs in the United States clustered aggregately and unevenly. The concentration of yacht clubs ranges from the northeastern part of the United States to the western and southern regions. 2) The driving factors influencing the development of yacht clubs in the United States changed along with time. The state ship and boat building industry was the main driving factors in phase I (before 1900). The state steel industry was the main driver in phase II (1900-1950). In phase III (1950-2000), state tourism GDP became the main driver, and in phase IV (2000-2017), state GDP and state ocean tourism and recreation GDP became the main factors. This study enriches the literature in the area of yacht tourism in terms of understanding the temporal-spatial pattern of yacht clubs.
... Therefore, some researchers integrate the idea of bidirectional effects into the cognitive-affective-conative model to understand individual psychological processes (e.g., Pachankis, 2007). Additionally, others suggest that cognition can also directly lead to conation (e.g., Sari et al., 2016;Taylor, 2020), even though affective aspects significantly mediate this relationship (Taylor, 2020). ...
Technology developments relating to automation, artificial intelligence, and robots have transformed the landscape of service industries, including hospitality and tourism. Through a qualitative content analysis of online review data, this study seeks a comprehensive and grounded understanding of customer experience with service robots in hospitality and tourism settings. The analysis identified four categories of customer experience: (1) sensory experience (verbal language, physical appearance, kinesics, and paralanguage), (2) cognitive experience (utility, cuteness, autonomy, coolness, interactivity, and courtesy), (3) affective experience (enjoyment, novelty, negative emotion, and satisfaction), and (4) conative experience (approach/resistance). Results led to the development of a framework representing customer experience with service robots and to insights into customer-robot interactions. Most customers described positive experiences, and while service robots performed well in delivering functional and emotional value, social interaction skills need improvement.
... In addition, expert-based techniques also offer an effective way to discover the current status of organizational service. Sari [30] studied the significant factors in terms of yachtsmen's satisfaction and extracted the six service quality criteria from the ten QoS dimensions to perform quality measurement and scale of the marina service. Wong [31] proposed a service quality model of urban taxis by employing a level-of-service (LOS) standard, contributing to improving publics' better understanding on taxis service situation. ...
With the rapid development of e-commerce and information technology, the express package volume in the Chinese market keeps an explosively increasing tendency. Terminal delivery plays a significant role on the business and reputation promotion of express brand. To identify the service quality of delivery service, an integrated SERVUQAL-AHP-TOPSIS approach is developed to evaluate the quality of service (QoS) of the city express industry. Firstly, the QoS criteria system is established through SERVQUAL-based dimensions. Secondly, the AHP method is employed to derive the relative weights of criteria. Then, the two stages are embedded into the TOPSIS steps to evaluate the service quality of the express alternative. An application case study is conducted following the detailed steps of the proposed integrated decision-making framework, and results demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed approach on the QoS of terminal delivery evaluation problem.
... There is ample research into factors that influence customer satisfaction with services, most often based on the concept of servicescape (Bitner, 1992;Pizam & Tasci, 2019). The research concerning the servicescape has been commonly operationalized into instruments measuring constructs such as satisfaction (Brunner-Sperdin et al., 2012;Moon et al., 2016) and service quality, often measured by SERVQUAL and its derivatives (Kirillova & Chan, 2019;Sari et al., 2016). One of SERVQUAL's underlying dimensions is 'tangibles', and visible employee characteristics, like appearance and behaviour, is a subject of research in this area. ...
Background and aim
Service providers need to be competent in the provision of hospitality. However, the question is, how to operationalize the experience of hospitality? Existing literature shows limited concrete service characteristics that lead to a hospitable experience in service environments. This article presents user-centred research into human-related aspects that influence the hospitality experience of guests.
Methods/methodology
Four case studies were performed in a public swimming pool and a catering setting. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, in three of the four cases, regular customers of the organizations were approached by email and asked to rate the importance of behaviours related to hospitable service. In the case of the public swimming pool, part of the data was collected prior to closing of the pool, allowing data collection via survey, on site or via email, depending on visitors’ preferences.
Results
The results show which non-verbal employee characteristics contribute to the distinctive factors of hospitality, especially observable behaviour. The factors ‘modest appearance’ and ‘representative appearance’ seem to be of medium importance, and the factor ‘paralanguage’ seems to be the least important factor.
Practical implications
This article shows that it is possible to identify concrete characteristics of employee behaviour that people associate with hospitality.
... A multi-faceted sector, sailing tourism is the activity surrounding leisure and sail craft that are normally berthed on moorings and in marine-related locations (Scottish Enterprise, 2010). It is a form of special interest tourism, involving the use of sailboats for sports or recreation (Işik & Cerİt, 2008;Sari et al., 2016). A sailboat or sail craft is a vessel built with a sailing form that can be used for both sport, recreation and adventure and is designed to provide the right navigation and maneuvers through the use of the weight of the craft (Sariisik et al., 2011). ...
Sailing tourism is deemed to be a significant tourism activity and economic contributor. Without an adequate assessment of the impact of marina attributes on tourist satisfaction, sailing destinations may not be able to map out successful marketing strategies and effectively increase destination attractiveness. Therefore, this research examined the marina attributes that impact the satisfaction of British and Danish sailing tourists, by adopting independent-samples t-tests, Kano's Evaluation Matrix (KEM) analysis, and the calculation of customer satisfaction coefficients. This research found differences between the British and Danish sailing tourists’ perceptions of marina attributes. The British sailing tourists place greater importance to safe sailing experience, while the Danish appear to place more emphasis on the service amenities and recreational opportunities. The findings of this research are of benefit to the sailing industry and destination communities as it gives an insight into the factors that are necessary to provide higher levels of tourist satisfaction and consequent improvements to socioeconomic benefits from sailing tourism.
... Questo comporta, per molti marina, la mancanza di una cultura orientata al servizio (European Consortium for Sustainable Industrial Policy, 2015) e in un marketing management inadeguato. Poca attenzione è dedicata al disegno di una value proposition differenziata (Heron & Juju, 2012), alla predisposizione di un'offerta integrata di servizi tecnici e turistici (incluse le esperienze a terra nei dintorni del porto) (Lam González et al., 2015), alla valutazione della customer satisfaction (Mikulić et al., 2015;Sari et al., 2016). In particolare, è assente un processo di segmentazione di mercato e perdura un approccio al marketing di tipo sostanzialmente indifferenziato. ...
... Bezerra & Gomes, 2016;Gonçalves & Caetano, 2017;Pantouvakis & Renzi, 2016). Although, there are two models (SERVPERF, Cronin & Taylor, 1994;SERVQUAL, Parasuraman et al., 1985) to use as the basis for measuring, regarding the unique characteristics of service sectors, the generic methodology and general indicators of SERVQUAL or SERVPERF need to be adapted for a specific measurement of service quality (Sari et al., 2016;Yimga, 2017). ...
In line with the advancing airway capability, the non-aeronautical business opportunities at airports are also in growth. To attract more passengers or to generate extra income over non-aeronautical services, the airport decision-makers need to evaluate the quality of their services. This study aims at introducing an expanded approach to improve airport service quality aspects of the non-aeronautical business opportunities. Given the increasing number of airports, passengers prefer airports, which provide better or extra services compared to others. To reveal the airport service quality (ASQ) aspects, together with the quality department experts, we conducted a qualitative study that put forward six significant dimensions for an effective evaluation of airport service quality at an airport. Based on the results of the qualitative study, we designed the sector-specific questionnaire, and its empirical data is conducted over 250 passengers through a face-toface survey. Survey results introduce a practical assessment tool for the use of airport managers to gather strategic inputs on their strategic plans and quality implications. Results also contribute to the literature by presenting a comprehensive understanding of the airport service quality.
... Diversi contributi approfondiscono tematiche di destination management, quali l'elaborazione di strategie di sviluppo dell'attrattività di una destinazione nautica (Luković e Kovačić, 2007;Kovačić e Favro, 2012;Gračan et al., 2018;Silveira et al., 2018), l'integrazione del turismo nautico nel sistema di offerta turistica locale (Horak et al., 2006;Favro e Gržetić, 2008;Payeras et al., 2011;Kovačić et al., 2013;Derkacheva et al., 2016;Monteiro et al., 2017;Johnston et al., 2017;Ivanić et al., 2018) o la creazione di prodotti di turismo nautico a forte contenuto esperienziale (Franjić et al., 2012). Con riferimento alle principali tipologie di impresa attive nel turismo nautico, un contenuto numero di paper affronta aspetti legati alla gestione e al marketing dei porti turistici (Stipanović e Gračan, 2005; Luković e Kovačić, 2007;Petrosillo et al., 2009Petrosillo et al., e 2010Bizzarri e La Foresta, 2011;Pranić e Šeric, 2011;Paker e Vural, 2016;Jugović, 2016;Sari et al., 2016;Benevolo e Spinelli, 2018a;Benevolo e Spinelli 2018b), mentre solo un contributo (Payeras et al., 2011) studia il charter nautico, nonostante la sua rilevanza economica nonché le sue significative prospettive di sviluppo, in particolare a livello europeo (European Commission, 2016). ...
... In this regard, nautical tourism literature is fragmented, as previous studies focus on analyzing the interrelation between satisfaction and a single typology of attributes (Jovanovic, Dragin, Armenski, Pavic, & Davidovic, 2013;Sari et al., 2016;Znidar, 2010), and lacks a holistic approach in explaining satisfaction conformation of this segment. In response, this article proposes and validates a universal model for better prediction of the nautical tourist satisfaction. ...
This article aims to analyse factors determining tourist satisfaction with nautical destinations.To this aim, survey data were collected from 255 nautical tourists visiting Cape Verde and anordinal logit model was used. Data analysis confirms that tourists´ satisfaction increases with the diversity and quality of the nautical and cultural offer, and the security offered by the destination, in line with previous research. As novelty, the affective feelings towards the nautical destination were also found as an important antecedent of nautical tourists´ satisfaction conformation. Also, the study confirms that tourists that had been before in the archipelago do experience a higher level of satisfaction if compare with non-repeaters. Lastly, the fact of visiting other competing nautical destinations influences the level of satisfaction of the nautical tourists in Cape Verde, although not all previously visited destinations have the same impact. This suggests that strategies for nautical tourism development should be more attentive to establish long-lasting relationships and networking structures with some key competitors, and segment their marketing plans according to tourists´ past destination choice. The results are of great importance for several destinations seeking to utilize the promotion of nautical activities as a key driver for tourism competitiveness and positioning improvement.
... Moreover, for maritime infrastructure, biodiversity is provided as an outcome indicator. Indeed, yacht tourism may highly affect environmental sustainability, given the impact of improper boat operations, garbage and oil disposals, emissions and anchoring on near-shore marine ecosystems (Hall, 2001;Mill, 2008;Sari et al., 2016). Enterprises in the service sector often do not handle a physical product like the manufacturing sector does and thus they should focus on the different kinds of strategies, such as reverse logistics, reuse and remanufacturing, that are valued by the manufacturing sector (Chiarini, 2014). ...
Sustainable development has gained attention in recent years not only among academics but has also become widespread among enterprises, which have realized that their operation should address environmental and societal prosperity as well as economics. However, something cannot be managed without measuring it, and this also applies to sustainability. When conducting a systematic literature review on sustainability indicators (SIs) for the yachting industry, their absence is observed; this must be rectified if enterprises from the yachting industry wish to operate sustainably. Therefore, the research question posited in this research is following: which are the most suitable SIs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the yachting industry and its related three business sectors (i.e., yacht-related service sector, yacht-related manufacturing, and yacht-related maritime infrastructure)? After collecting the sustainable indicators evidenced in the literature, a literature review was completed with indicators from other international initiatives and provided a restricted list to be first verified through peer review (expert judgment) with academics from France, Italy, and Slovenia. Afterward, the list of SIs was tested by conducting interviews with 18 SMEs from the yachting industry in Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain, asking them about the appropriateness and relevance of the proposed SIs. According to their feedback, the proposed SIs were revised and adapted to suit their needs and specific aspects. The final list of SIs for the yachting industry consists of 33 SIs for the yacht-related service industry, 38 for the yacht-related manufacturing industry and 38 for the yacht-related maritime infrastructure industry. The SIs were finally categorized based on both Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL) concept and an operational typology of indicators: input, process, output, and outcome. By suggesting the SIs for the yachting industry, this study aims at helping SMEs in identifying “hot spots” by developing their own sustainability assessment system, being able to develop relevant sustainability reports and increase stakeholders’ engagement.
The Egyptian tourism sector is one of the important sources of national income in foreign currency. Despite the richness of Egyptian destination and tourism products, the various crises that face the Egyptian tourism sector in recent years, caused its deterioration and decrease in the number of tourists thus a decrease in tourism revenues. Consequently, it was necessary to search for new type of tourism to enhance Egyptian tourism revenues. Yacht tourism is one of these new types that could be used to revitalize the Egyptian tourism sector and enhance tourism revenues.
So, this research aims to study the importance and components of yacht tourism in Egypt and the opportunities and challenges facing this new type, as well as studying sustainable yacht tourism. This research will also review the positive and negative environmental impacts of yacht tourism in Egypt and will be concluded by formulate the foundations and mechanisms for developing this new type of tourism in Egypt.
This study reached numerous results, the most important of which is that despite Egypt’s distinguished tourism potential along its coasts on the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and despite the state’s interest in this new tourism style, Till Now yacht tourism in Egypt has not reached the desired position to enhance Egyptian tourism revenues. To achieve this, some important measures that must be implemented by the state were mentioned, as well as some important proposals and policies for the growth and prosperity of yacht tourism in Egypt
Marinacılık sektörü bir hizmet sektörü olarak, dünyada yatçılık faaliyetlerinin de artmasıyla sürekli gelişme göstermektedir. Marinalarda verilen çoğu hizmetin lüks hizmetler olarak nitelendirilmesiyle bağlantılı olarak marinaların, özelleştirilmiş müşteri beklentilerini karşılayarak memnuniyet oluşturabilmesi rekabet ortamı içerisinde günden güne zorlaşmaktadır. Marina işletmelerinin, yeni müşterilerle çalışabilmesi ve sadık müşterilere sahip olabilmesi için sadece hizmet kalitesine önem veren bir anlayışla ilerlemesinin yeterli olmadığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bu nedenle marina müşterilerinin değişen istek ve değer anlayışı göz önünde bulundurularak, marinalardaki tercih faktörleri üzerine yoğunlaşılması önemli görülmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, marina müşterilerinin tercihini etkileyen faktörlerin demografik özelliklere göre farklılık gösterip göstermediğini ortaya koymaktır. Araştırma verileri Muğla’daki marinalardan hizmet alan marina müşterilerinden toplanmıştır. Veriler kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle, 455 marina müşterisinden 15.07.2021-30.01.2022 tarihleri arasında toplanmıştır. Araştırmanın hipotezleri, kukla değişkenli regresyon analizleri ile çoklu regresyon analizleriyle SPSS 22.00, AMOS 21.00 ve JAMOVİ 2.3.18 istatistik programları kullanılarak test edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre marina tercihini etkileyen faktörler; prestij, ağızdan ağıza iletişim, çekicilik, yerel kültür, eğlence, verilen hizmet ve hizmet kalitesi, ulaşılabilirlik ve destekleyici unsurlardan oluşmaktadır. Bununla birlikte marina müşterilerinin demografik özelliklerine göre marina tercihini etkileyen faktörlerin farklılık gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir.
Purpose-Drawing on the cognitive-affective-conative framework, this study aims to develop a model of service robot acceptance in the hospitality sector by incorporating both cognitive evaluations and affective responses.
Design/methodology/approach-A mixed-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods was used to develop measurement and test research hypotheses.
Findings-The results show that five cognitive evaluations (i.e. cuteness, coolness, courtesy, utility and autonomy) significantly influence consumers' positive affect, leading to customer acceptance intention. Four cognitive evaluations (cuteness, interactivity, courtesy and utility) significantly influence consumers' negative affect, which in turn positively affects consumer acceptance intention.
Practical implications-This study provides significant implications for the design and implementation of service robots in the hospitality and tourism sector.
Originality/value-Different from traditional technology acceptance models, this study proposed a model based on the hierarchical relationships of cognition, affect and conation to enhance knowledge about human-robot interactions.
Given the generally stressful job demands of the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the work passion and emotions of hotel employees is particularly important. Based on the conservation of resources theory and the job demands-resources model, this study develops a multiple mediation model to investigate how frontline hotel employees with different types of work passion choose emotional labor strategies under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of different choices on their service quality. A two-stage survey using data from 206 frontline employees of five-star hotels in China explored how work passion influences emotional labor and thereby affects emotional expression as well as service quality. The results showed emotional labor partially mediates the relationship between work passion and emotional expression, which in turn mediates the relationship between emotional labor and service quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.
Multiple regression is one of the most powerful analysis techniques available to hospitality and tourism researchers for complex problems that may include prediction, mediation, and moderation. The interpretation of the results requires a two-step hierarchical approach. The first step is to determine whether the researcher has findings worth interpreting and reporting and the second step is to determine the effect(s) origins. This second step involves evaluating both the 𝛽-weights and structure coefficients. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of 𝛽-weights and structure coefficients while reporting univariate multiple regression results by hospitality and tourism researchers. The findings suggested that while researchers reported 𝛽-weights, structure coefficients were not consulted. Additionally, although 𝛽-weights were reported, they were misinterpreted in some cases. This study is helpful to hospitality management researchers as they interpret their findings as well as conduct peer reviews.
Keywords: multiple regression, suppressor effects, multicollinearity
The goal of this research was to analyse the factors that are important to sailing tourists in assuring satisfying marina destination experiences. The analysis applied Kano's model to classify attributes that influence tourist satisfaction with marinas. The research was conducted in Denmark and the United Kingdom, two well-known origins of and destinations for sailing tourists. Of the fourteen attributes, clean marina sanitary facilities, helpful service attitudes of marina employees, water and electrical connections, weather, and clean marina grounds were rated highest in importance for sailing experiences. Based on Kano's model, the fourteen marina attributes were categorized into must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, and indifferent. This research gives insights into future strategic management decisions for marina destinations.
This study explores Korea’s attributes of medical tourism destination brands in the medical tourism
market and examines its impact on customer engagement, trust, and revisit intention. The role of
the attributes in shaping the intentions of medical tourists is also examined. In this study, both
qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to create and verify five attributes. Structural equation modeling showed that the relationships between the proposed variables have a significant effect. This study, using the Korean market as a case study, provides valuable insight into the process of forming tourists’ intentions and encouraging them to repeat business.
Introduction: The significance of gastronomic tourism refers to its possible contribution to the proposal of regional tourism worth extracted from traveler's curiosity in new experiences. The aspects of quality of service should be explored in order to determine the required improvement of a tourism destination in order to cultivate a positive experience for the visitors. If properly emphasized, the touristic revenues produced may be highly useful for the local community and contribute to the economic development for Malaysia.
Methodology: Qualitative data from 12 in-depth interviews of gastronomic tourist on their perception towards the service quality of the stalls based on the SERVQUAL model through a case study on New Lane street food stalls at George Town, Penang with its relation toward tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty.
Results and discussion: Research has shown insight among the gastronomic tourist about their reflections which are expressed in terms of the service quality, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty with regards to their visit.
Conclusion: Penang’s street food is a convincing justification for a visit to the mentioned region, with its variety of local food reflecting the diversity of cultures and ethnic groups. Still, multiple steps can also be taken to further reinforce the system of tourism services such as a positive picture of the city that ambassadors, embassy officials, consular officers’ representative of Malaysia in various countries of the world may convey.
ÖZET: Hizmet kalitesi, işletmelerin müşterilerine sunmayı vaad ettiklerini hatasız ve eksiksiz olarak gerçekleştirmesi, aynı zamanda müşteri beklentilerinin karşılanabilme yeteneğidir ve buna bağlı olarak müşteri tarafından algılanan performans ve müşterinin tatmin edilme düzeyidir. Son yıllarda hizmet sektöründe gerçekleşen yüksek rekabet ve müşterilerin daha bilinçli hale gelmesiyle sunulan hizmet kalitesine verilen önemi de arttırmıştır. Kısa sürede dünyaya yayılan Koronavirüs (COVID-19) tüm dünyada olduğu gibi Türkiye’de de turizm hareketlerini olumsuz yönde etkilemeye devam etmektedir. Salgın nedeniyle, tüm faaliyetlerin durma noktasına gelmesi, deniz turizmi ve bu alanda faaliyet gösteren işletmeleri de derinden etkilenmiştir. Türkiye’de kriz ortamına giren turizm sektöründe, normalleşme süreciyle beraber turizm faaliyetleri başlamış olsa da değişen turist satın alma davranışlarına bağlı olarak deniz turizmi kapsamında yat turizmine yoğun bir talep olduğu gözlemlenmiştir.
Turizm hareketleri içinde seyahat merkezinde deniz ve çevresi dinlenme ve eğlence faaliyetlerini kapsayan deniz turizmi dâhilindeki yat turizmi, Türkiye’de halen istenilen düzeye ulaşamamış olsa da turizm açısından önemli bir potansiyele sahiptir. Bu potansiyelin arttırılabilmesi için Türkiye yat turizmi destinasyonları ve marinalara yönelik bilgilerin hedef kitleye etkili biçimde ulaştırılması gereklidir. İşletmelerin vazgeçilmezi haline gelen internet ve web siteleri, firma ve müşterileri arasındaki bağların oluşmasına katkı sağlamakta ve önemli bir bilgi kaynağı oluşturmaktadır. Turizm sektöründe, internet ve web sitelerinin pazarlama iletişimi faaliyetlerinde sıkça kullanıldığı bilinmektedir. Bu bağlamda marina web sitelerinde sunulan bilgi ve görseller marinalarda verilen hizmetleri vurgulayarak yat sahiplerinin marina tercihlerini etkileyebilecek bir potansiyele sahiptir.
Araştırmanın amacı, yat turizmi tercihini etkileyen bir kriter olan marina hizmetlerinin marina web sitelerinde görsel ve dilsel ifadelerle yansıtılma düzeylerini boylamsal olarak karşılaştırmaktır. Veriler 2015 ve 2020 yıllarında toplanmış ve SERVQUAL ölçeği temel alınarak değerlendirilerek karşılaştırılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular marinaların Pandemi sonrası döneme iyi hazırlandıkları ve web sitelerinde sunmakta oldukları hizmetlerini kaliteli bir şekilde yansıttıkları yönündedir. Buna karşılık COVİD 19 özelindeki sağlık ve fiziksel mesafe tedbirlerine yönelik uygulamalara az sayıdaki marina web sitesinde rastlanması önemli bir eksiklik olarak dikkat çekmiştir.
Anahtar kelimeler: Deniz Turizmi, Yat Turizmi, Marinalar, Web
Sitesi, Hizmet Kalitesi, SERVQUAL
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ABSTRACT: Service quality is the faultless and complete fulfillment of what businesses promise to offer their customers. It is also the ability to meet customer expectations and, accordingly, the performance perceived by the customer and the satisfaction level of the customer. The high competition in the service sector in recent years and the awareness of the customers have increased the importance given to the service quality.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) which appeared in Wuhan city of China's spread around the world, continues to negatively affect the world tourism activites. Almost all touristic activities came to a halt, also sea tourism and businesses operating in this field were also deeply affected. Although Turkish tourism is experiencing crisis, with normalization process after June 2020, an intense demand for yacht tourism as a result of changing behavior of tourists.
The Yacht tourism which can be considered in sea tourism still have not reached the desired level in In order to reach Turkey's yacht tourism potential information about destinations for yacht tourism should effectively be conveyed to the target audience. Internet and websites, contribute to the formation of connections between companies and their customers. Within this context, the information and visuals presented on the marina websites have the potential to influence the marina preferences of the yacht owners.
The aim of the research is to compare the visual and verbal expressions of web sites of the marinas for services, which acts as a criterion affecting the choices in yacht tourism. It is a longitudinal research. The data were collected in 2015 and 2020 and compared based on the SERVQUAL scale. The findings show that the marinas are well prepared for the post-Pandemic period and reflect the services they offer on their websites in a high quality manner. On the other hand, it has seen that an important deficiency related with health and physical distance measures specific to COVID 19 exist only on a small number of marina websites.
Key words: Sea Tourism, Yacht Tourism, Marinas, Web Sites, Service Quality, SERVQUAL
This study aims to identify the strategic implications of service attributes of wedding banquet halls by developing a “competitive service quality and risk early warning (CSQ-REW) model” based on the service gap, competitive quality gap and failure mode and effects analysis. There are eight strategy patterns in the CSQ-REW model. This study uses two major wedding banquet halls in Taiwan as the cases to verify the CSQ-REW model. For Wedding Banquet Hall A (i.e. the benchmarking company), most service attributes of the “venue styles and layouts” and “dining delivery” factors are competitive advantages with a lower risk of service failure. Most service attributes of the “reassurance” factor are false advantages with a higher risk of service failure. This study expects that the strategic implications of service attributes of the wedding banquet halls can be evaluated and identified more specifically and effectively using the CSQ-REW model to improve the service quality.
The nautical activiity has great potential for the socio-economic development of tourism. In Spain, the sector is a priority concern, especially for the Canary Islands, which show a clear commitment to specialise and reposition the destination as a top quality nautical destination on a European level. These aspects, together with the prior experience and tradition these islands have as a stopover destination for vessels in the Atlantic, when crossing Europe towards the Caribbean, represent strengths that have not yet been taken advantage of in the archipelago’s attempt to move away from its image as a traditional sun and beach destination. The Governmental Authorities in the Canary Islands have clear strategies in place to promote the yachting tourism growth. However, renewing the sector is believed to be a difficult process because of the large number of factors that interact within the same. This is a phenomenon of sufficient social and environmental significance to justify academic attention. This research analyses therefore the determinants of the European yachtsmen´s satisfaction with the ports of call of the Canary Islands. Data results of questioning 185 European yachtsmen crossing the Atlantic during 2014 and 2015 reveal that, among other aspects, proper environmental management of marinas leads to an increasing yachtsmen´s satisfaction. The findings provide the opportunity for developing recommendations for tourism managers and practitioners, in the attempt to contribute to a more sustainable and reasoned development and growth in the sector. Based on the current preferences of the European market of yachtsmen, it is possible to assure that environmental and social responsibility policies are a key differentiation factor for the competitiveness of the sector.
Today, airline companies have to provide digital products and services to ensure customer satisfaction. Accordingly, classical service quality models are not sufficient to capture customer expectations, and new digital service quality (DSQ) models should emerge. This study aims to propose a new and genuine DSQ model. The proposed model consists of digital tangibles, reliability, digital interaction, digital trust, and customer-centricity dimensions; and 35 criteria related to them. Importance degrees of criteria are determined with the IVIF AHP method. The validity of the proposed model is verified, employing a real case concerning the Turkish airline industry. The results show that the most significant dimension is digital trust, and the three most important criteria are proactive customer service, cybersecurity, and customer insight.
In streamlining and making services efficiently to the community the local government is demanded to be able to make service innovations that support the improvement of the quality of services to the community. Service quality relates to products, services, people, processes and the environment that can meet the needs of those who receive these services. The aim of current research is investigating the antecedents of Green Society Satisfaction (GSS) mediated by Collaborative Good Government Practices. Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS is deployed to analyze the data. Data collecting method is survey with distributing questionnaires. A large number of sample is required, where the society in pontianak as the population. Some criterions are designed in order to obtain wanted samples. Purposed sampling is used with non-purposive sampling technique. Cronbach’s Alpha values, Regression Weights, Absolute, Incremental, Parsimony Fit Measurements, and Variables, Standardized Loading, α, Error, CR and EVA are within rule of thumbs. The research findings demonstrated that all proposed hypotheses are accepted. Reliability Advantages, Responsiveness Advantages, Assurance Capability, Empathy and Tangibles respectively show the positive significant as the antecedent of Green Society Satisfaction mediated by Collaborative Good Government Practices. This is to claim that government offices have deeply taken into consideration that good government practices is a must in delivering and offering services. Keywords: Reliability Advantages, Responsiveness Advantages, Assurance Capability, Empathy, Tangibles, Collaborative Good Government Practices, Green Society Satisfaction
Marmaris where is one of the most yacht attracting destinations in Turkey. Findings indicate that yacht owners and captains in Marmaris are satisfied with the marina services in general. The main dimension of satisfaction is “meeting the needs”. Also, findings indicate that satisfaction has an impact on recommending intention. %29 percent of the yacht owners’ and captains’ recommend intention can be explained with satisfaction.
Daily yacht tours, more affordable marine tourism services which do not require accommodation on the yacht, make it possible to benefit from the bays that cannot be reached by land roads, and provide basic needs such as food and drink during the day. Such services have demand in Turkey, as well as many prominent yacht destinations. However, these services have not been adequately addressed in service quality literature, which has been widely discussed in many different areas. Furthermore, as a result of the development of marine tourism within a legal framework in Turkey, it has gained importance in recent years, the efforts to improve these services are limited especially in terms of service quality. The aim of this study is to define the service quality dimensions of daily yacht tours, to evaluate the existing service quality and to determine the areas to be developed. The sample of the study has been chosen by judgmental methods to be conducted through daily yacht tours operators and customers who received these services. The data have been collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Maxqda computer sofware has been used in the analysis of the data and reliability and validity of the results have been increased through coding by two authors. Furthermore, the subject has been discussed in depth through field observations of the authors. The results of the research are thought to contribute to the improvement of the quality of service to daily yacht tour service providers and policy makers and to the service quality literature on daily yacht tours.
This paper deals with the study of nautical tourism, stressing the importance of efficient management of nautical tourism as a system. Nautical tourism is a complex system requiring the use of all patterns and regularities of the general system theory and principles for the management of integrated complex systems. The study aims to identify essential elements and characteristics of the nautical tourism in Croatia. Croatia has very favourable natural conditions for the development of nautical tourism, such as a long coastline, a great number of islands, islets and bays suitable for leisure mariners, as well as favourable climatic and hydrographic conditions. Besides basic natural spatial conditions and development potentials of nautical tourism, special importance is also given to the development of complementary activities. The authors examine the possibilities for the development of such activities, defining the concept of nautical economy as a basic guideline for the future development of nautical tourism in Croatia. Special emphasis is given to the development of complementary activities on islands, and parallels are drawn between the achievements in nautical economy of Croatia and nautical economy worldwide.
Yachting services in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is an important cluster in the tourism sector and is characterised by low switching costs and a highly sophisticated demand. The decrease in demand of yachting services over the years has signaled a cause for concern. Evidence shows that service providers are unable to attract and retain customers. This paper investigates the current status and discusses the key variables affecting value creation of the yachting services cluster (YSC). An empirical study was recently conducted to acquire the views from the targeted groups of the cluster stakeholders in T&T. A host of factors/elements, including repair accuracy, concurrent engineering, quality standards, quality assurance, and quality control, were identified. Results showed that the majority of customers were concerned with a disparity between quality of services offered and the prices charged particularly in the repair and maintenance of their yachts. Incorporating the empirical findings acquired, an attempt was made to develop a value creation programme for the cluster using a value management (VM) approach. A VM framework is proposed for possible adoption in the cluster to gain sustainable competitiveness.
The sector of leisure and recreational nautical activities is presently defined by a strong international demand, predicted to continue its growth. In this context, the Tagus Estuary has an enormous potential, which should be urgently developed and capitalized. Some of the work that has been already developed by Municipalities is notorious, as can be seen in strategies and projects defined for the promotion and regeneration of riverside areas. In the specific case of the Tagus Estuary, the conditions for the development of leisure and recreational nautical activities can be found in the combination of its particular characteristics with its geographical location as part of the Great Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, as well as key emerging socioeconomic and institutional dynamics. These characteristics include its nature as a sheltered area (representing good conditions for nautical activities); a valuable natural heritage, coupled with beautiful landscape; a cultural heritage strongly linked to economical activities directly and indirectly connected to the river. The matter discussed in the presentation is based on the assumption that a regionally integrated strategy, complementary both territorially and sector-wise, is an essential pre-condition for the effective development of these activities. This is true in terms of the territory because the creation of a critical mass that would make this organizational logic possible can only be reached through the networking of the several riverside Municipalities. Finally, sectors are both the base of cluster organization itself, as they are a strategic element of articulation and mobilization of resources, to be integrated in its framework.
Service quality in the tourism industry receives increasing attention in the literature, yet confusion still exists as to which measure offers the greatest validity. The two main research instruments are Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and SERVQUAL. However, both measures have been questioned and research has introduced measures that multiply SERVQUAL by Importance, as well as a measure of just Performance (SERVPERF). This article assesses these four main methods of measuring customer service quality. The data were obtained in cooperation with a major U.K. tour operator. Of the respondents, 220 completed a questionnaire before departure on what elements were important to them and what their expectations were for these elements. Toward the end of their holiday, respondents were issued a second questionnaire measuring performance on the same elements. The research found that although there was variety in the rankings of the 13 different elements, there was no statistical difference between the four methodologies. The final section of this article considers the implications of this finding for tourism managers and future research in the area of service quality.
Nautical tourism ports make an open, dynamic and complex system which has been rapidly evolving; this is the reason why the development of this system requires continual monitoring and research. The existing models and development plans concerning nautical tourism ports do not provide for a systematic qualitative and quantitative development of nautical tourism, thus contributing to economical inefficiency likely to cause even ecological imbalance. The more so if nautical ports are regarded as business subjects by whom the concept of sustainable development is declaratively acceptable. For this reason, this paper presents in a systematic and clear way the results of the research based on an overall analysis and evaluation of nautical tourism ports’ position and development plans. On the basis of the results obtained, the paper presents a model of sustainable development of nautical tourism ports whereby the authors propose to redefine the approach to planning the development of nautical tourism and particularly to creating the offer and to understanding the relationship between economic development and environmental protection.
The main object of this study is to present current situation and to analyze managerial conditions of yacht-tourism in Turkey by conducting a meta-analysis and qualitative view. Yacht tourism one of the most developing niche tourism sectors around the world. As one of most important tourism forms by creating higher revenues, providing sustainable development opportunities and ensuring product differentiation, yacht-tourism may be evaluated more strategic options for Turkish tourism. Turkey has greater potentials that can be used in yacht tourism as long coastline, natural beauties, and quality accommodations facilities. In order to assess all industrial conditions, yacht tourism has been taken in hand in a SWOT view. Depending upon SWOT outputs, some relevant strategies were discussed. Estimations were interpreted in the lights of a case study treated of applications and conditions in two marinas located in Istanbul.
This article presents the results of an exploratory study on customer perceptions of service quality in travel agencies, using data collected from 277 respondents. Six factors that explain service quality are identified. In order of importance, these factors are corporate image, competitiveness, courtesy, responsiveness, accessibility, and compe tence. Implications for developing marketing strategy and controlling service quality are given.
The SERVQUAL instrument has been proposed as an instrument for the measurement of perceived service quality within a wide range of service categories. The current research examines both the operation of the scale and its management implications in four major sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Concerns regarding the SERVQUAL scale and its limitations and problems are discussed; within and across service category comparisons are also considered. Finally, other areas requiring attention in the area of quality of service are suggested.
This study reports an application in the hospitality industry of the SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry. Although originally developed for application within the financial services sector, the model is designed to measure those components of service that generate satisfaction within five dimensions. This study identified the existence of gaps between clients' and management perceptions of attributes of the hotel, and between client expectation and perception of the services offered. It is argued that the existence of these gaps is a source of dissatisfaction with services provided. Factor analysis identified five dimensions explaining 78 per cent of variance, but these differed from the SERVQUA L model.
Customer satisfaction and service quality measures obtained through consumer surveys invariably have skewed distributions.
As such, researchers have questioned the appropriateness of the popular approach of using the mean rating to summarize such
data. However, no detailed study on this topic has yet been conducted. In two independent studies, the relative validity of
the various indexes that can be used to summarize consumer’s service quality ratings (e.g., mean, median, mode, kurtosis,
skewness, top/bottom-tail percentiles) are examined. In Study 1, using typical commercial survey data from a fast-food/convenience
retail chain, both the mean and top-box percentiles are found to be the best indicators of service quality, based on their
correlation with customer-driven business performance measures. In Study 2, the results are further confirmed by an extensive
simulation that varies factors such as the shape of the underlying distribution of customer ratings and the strength of the
relationship between customer ratings and business performance measures. The article concludes with a discussion of the findings
and implications for future research.
In today's world of intense competition, satisfying customers is only the base line and may not be sufficient for survival. Management should focus on gaining customer loyalty by enhancing customer perceptions of service quality and increasing as perceived by the consumer value. Although previous studies have addressed the importance of service quality, satisfaction, perceived value, and image, the precise nature of the relationships that exist between these constructs and the understanding of their effect on customer behaviour still remains a key issue. This empirical study seeks to understand the relationships that exist between service quality and perceived value and how they impact customer satisfaction, corporate image, and behavioural intentions. The proposed model indicates that delivering high quality service and creating superior customer value can result in achieve high customer satisfaction, thus effecting the firm's corporate image, and ultimately leading to consumer retention.
Web 2.0 empowers online customers and social networks to engage in e-service processes such as service design, production and marketing. Although the impact of customer participation and inter-customer support on service quality is recognised, e-service quality conceptualisations and measurement models have failed to incorporate the impact of Web 2.0 on e-service delivery. After examining the role of Web 2.0 on customer participation and the gaps of previously developed e-service quality models, an extended e-service quality model is proposed that considers customer participation and inter-customer support in e-service settings. The theoretical and practical implications of the proposed model for website design and management are discussed.
textlessptextgreaterThe attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is largely undefined and unresearched. The authors attempt to rectify this situation by reporting the insights obtained in an extensive exploratory investigation of quality in four service businesses and by developing a model of service quality. Propositions and recommendations to stimulate future research about service quality are offered.
Marine and coastal tourism is one of the fastest growing areas within the world's largest industry. Yet despite increased awareness of the economic and environmental significance of marine and coastal tourism it is only in recent years that a substantial body of research has emerged. This article provides a review of some of the coastal and marine tourism literature which focuses, in particular, on the environmental impacts of tourism. The article then notes the manner within which tourism is a component of integrated approaches towards coastal and marine management and some of the strategies that are utilised to manage tourism in a sustainable fashion.
Eight empirical studies using attitudinal data to cluster countries are reviewed. The major dimensions accounting for similarities among countries are discussed, and a final synthesis of clusters is presented.
SERVQUAL:
A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of
Service Quality
A. PARASURAMAN
Foley's/Federated Professor of Retailing and Marketing Studies
Texas A & M University College Station, Texas
VALARIE A. ZEITHAML
Associate Professor
of Marketing Duke University
Raleigh-Durham, N. Carolina
LEONARD L. BERRY
Foley's/Federated Professor of Retailing and Marketing Studies
Texas A & M University College Station, Texas
This paper describes the development of a 22-item instrument (called SERVQUAL) for assessing customer perceptions of service quality in service and retailing organizations. After a discussion of the conceptu alization and operationalization of the service quality construct, the procedures used in constructing and refining a multiple-item scale to measure the construct are described. Evidence of the scale's reliability, factor structure, and validity on the basis of analyzing data from four independent samples is presented next. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential applications ef the scale.
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This paper presents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and environmental aspects of developing nautical tourism. It examines the problems of sitting and selecting the location of a nautical port, and it identifies economic and political, and socio-cultural factors. The paper brings out the importance of balanced development of a port of nautical tourism as a primary determinant of the integrated management of the marine domain. Due to its manifold multiplier effects, nautical tourism is a major branch of tourism that has great potential for development in Croatia. The paper points out the importance of systematically valorising the potential of nautical tourism on the principles of sustainable development, while encouraging and raising the nautical-tourism offering to a higher level. It underlines the need to enlarge the capacities of nautical-tourism ports, especially on Croatia’s islands, thus helping to increase the standard of living of coastal residents. In doing so, the development process must take into account the principles of spatial organisation and the needs of people living and working within the territory of a nautical-tourism destination.
The present research was conducted in a bank in Tehran, Iran, in 2009/2010. This report is the outcome of a field research, which aimed to determine the quality of services offered by Sepah Bank, and also to study the relationship between the service quality, satisfaction and loyalty. In this research, the service quality standard model has been used for evaluation of service quality, Gremler and Brown (1996) model with some revision was used for evaluating the loyalty, and the instrument offered by Bitner and Hubbert (1994) was used for evaluation of customer satisfaction. The focus of this research is a Sepah Bank branch around Fatemi St., Tehran, Iran, and 147 customers of this bank were sampled. The results of this research show that in all aspects, customers’ expectation, are higher than their perceptions of the Bank’s operation, and in fact the quality of offered services is low. Besides, this research findings show that the customer satisfaction plays the role of a mediator in the effects of service quality on service loyalty. These findings are further explored.
En el presente, el turismo náutico, está cobrando una gran importancia gracias al estudio
de diversas entidades públicas y privadas que se interesan por este producto, como son los
departamentos de diversas Universidades, consultorías turísticas, etc. al respecto de diversos
aspectos, tales como, el desarrollo de las Estaciones náuticas (las cuales ya tratamos en el
número anterior de esta publicación y a las que también nos referiremos en este artículo, en
relación a criterios como la línea de Nuevos Productos Turísticos fomentada por el Plan
Marco de Competitividad del Turismo Español1).
En nuestro país una de las bases principales de nuestra economía es la actividad turística
y dentro de ésta un componente que puede ayudar a desestacionalizar, diversificar y cualificar
la oferta turística, es el turismo náutico. Algunas variables que identifican la importancia
de este producto en España quedan reflejados al observar las siguientes cifras. Dentro del
terreno laboral el personal directo relacionado con la actividad náutica turística se cifra en
3.124, siendo de 23.409 el personal inducido. En cuanto al volumen de negocio generado se
sitúa en 204.141 millones de pesetas1
Patients' and personnel's perceptions of service quality were analysed to position nuclear medicine organisations in the service triangle theory of Haywood-Farmer [ Int J Production and Operations Management 1988; 6:19-29]. After distinguishing the service quality dimensions of nuclear medicine, a comparison was made between the service quality perceptions of patients ( n=259) and those of personnel ( n=24). We examined the importance of different service quality dimensions by studying their relationship to patient satisfaction. The proposed five dimensions of SERVQUAL, the most commonly used service quality measurement scale, were not confirmed. Patients considered tangibles and assurance as one dimension, while the original empathy dimension was separated into empathy and convenience. Personnel perceived all service quality dimensions as less good than did patients, except for empathy. Results indicated that patients' perception of service quality was correlated with patient satisfaction, especially in terms of reliability and tangibles-assurance. Based on these service quality dimensions, we suggest that nuclear medicine services need to optimise their physical and process component and the technical skills of personnel.
Nautical tourism is one of the selective forms of tourism that rise in the last thirty years on the foreign market as well as on domestic market. There are more and more advocates of this form of tourism mostly coming from developed countries as this form of tourism is mostly used by people having medium and high standard. In favour of that thesis is the fact that a boater during one entering the port with the yacht spends as much as 30 “ordinary” tourists. Due to that fact many countries are starting to develop nautical tourism, especially the one on rivers. Croatia, as one of maritime countries with great number of islands, has great possibilities for further development of that form of tourism. Nautical tourists nowadays has more and more demands, they expect clean see, the best organisation in nautical tourism port, but also the best food and drink, and many different activities and other special facilities for their pleasure. Authors in this paper research basic and complementary facilities that nautical tourism ports offer, define which of them the important ones are and which one are the additional ones. They also research the level of quality that has to be satisfied to attract yachters out of season as well. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the offer made by three marinas: Croatian, Italian and Spanish marina and present received results. The aim of the research is to define the role and quality of facilities of business operations of a nautical tourism port, and as a holder of the development of nautical tourism and element of integral management of maritime domain.
Some practitioners maintain that the main problem with introducing a quality management system such as ISO 9000, is the amount of paperwork required to maintain it. Many believe it is purely a bureaucratic paperwork exercise and managers are so busy chasing paper that they do not find time to concentrate on genuine quality and business improvement. This was recognized by managers of the Cowie Group plc, the major UK motor finance and specialist distribution, and bus operator, when introducing their formal quality system. Outlines a collaborative project with the University of Sunderland Business School, which assesses the feasibility of developing semi-intelligent computer software which manages parts of the quality system and enables managers to concentrate on quality improvement of the overall business, and its various processes. It begins by discussing how the Cowie Group introduced a quality system to their operations and how this effected their activities. The next section discusses the practical, technical and cultural problems experienced when implementing this model, and how the group decided to resolve these using current computer technology. Concludes by highlighting problems associated with this and sets the ground rules for resolving these as part of the “semi-intelligent quality system”.
The Internet is a network of computer networks that make it possible for firms and individuals to publish and exchange information and conduct transaction and exchanges worldwide. People can obtain valuable information about companies, markets, products on the Web. Internet marketing and sales on-line are highly increasing each year. Marketing for yacht tourism is complicated since it deals with a specific and sophisticated target market with special needs and it should provide clients with options and alternative ways to accomplish their goals. In yacht tourism which consists of yacht and marine world, effective and efficient marketing can be an art form and subject to the variables of the yacht itself (location, age, condition, etc.), the characteristics of marinas, the services provided by them and the quality and education level of human resources.
In Turkey, the rapid increase in internet applications for destination marketing, direct lodging and travel registrations / sales, has given rise to development of electronic tourism markets, which is one of the most important application domains in the World Wide Web. Since tourism is an important industry for Turkey, which carries the country to the global top 10 in international tourism receipts and arrivals, Turkey needs to adopt new means of responding the customers’ changing needs at new alternative types as yacht tourism and means as internet marketing. One of the most important applications that could help for such differentiation is through Internet marketing may be an excellent tool for yacht tourism due to its flexibility, speed, place and time availability that it provides to users. This paper consists of two parts. First part is about the basics of internet usage in yacht tourism. It covers topics of; internet usage in yacht tourism, success and failure factors in internet marketing in yacht tourism, things to consider when establishing Web sites for yacht tourism. The second part of the study is a practical part, where, 45 boat owners that are the customers of yacht tourism are interviewed about their special expectancies from internet marketing.
The subject of this book is the European nautical tourism market, which is later contrasted with research into cruising as a well-organized industry at a global level. In particular, European nautical tourism is compared to the developed world cruise markets in the Pacific. The book is divided into 11 thematic chapters and consists of four main research sections. Part 1 gives a theoretic study of nautical tourism, its sources, definitions, and classification of nautical tourism industries. Subjects of nautical tourism are explained, European nautical tourism markets are specified and defined, and sustainable development is explained and modelled. Part 2 studies supply markets according to the basic classification of the European nautical tourism markets. For each market, studies are conducted separately for each country and for the main industries of nautical tourism. The main characteristics of demand are studied in the following market-oriented section. Part 3 discusses nautical tourism in the Pacific, specifically in the areas of marinas and cruising. Part 4 discusses and estimates the future development of nautical tourism, taking into account the specific characteristics of the market.
The authors describe new developments in structural equation modeling as incorporated in LISREL V. The procedures are illustrated on data from three previous studies.
In the United States, the number of elderly is increasing much faster than the overall population of the country. Although this growth presents the restaurant industry with new opportunities, there is evidence that two of three senior patrons express dissatisfaction with service because of mistreatment by restaurant employees. No quantitative research has addressed the influence of service quality on older diners’ behavioral intentions. This study statistically analyzed the relationship between service quality dimensions and restaurant loyalty among elderly customers. An on-site survey was conducted at two family-style restaurants using the SERVQUAL instrument. The major findings were that friendly service and individual attention were more important factors than tangible aspects of service in influencing elderly customers’ behavioral intentions. The results of this study will help restaurant operators improve the specific service quality dimensions that enhance return business.
In this conceptual article, the tourist experience is proposed as the moment when tourism consumption and tourism production meet. It is also the moment when value is created and resources are consumed and thus the decisive moment for the economics of tourism experiences. Value created by consuming tourism experiences depends not only upon the objective experience but also upon the tourist and the tourist's state of mind at that particular moment. This argument rests on the concept “arousal level” that gives a dynamic description of varying needs of a tourist. Needs are discussed in relation to a three dimensional categorization based on basic, social and intellectual needs. Resources consumed for the production of tourism experiences are analysed as consumption sets that include four generic resources: time, skills, goods and services. The tourist is assumed to play an important role in the final link of the production chain, i.e. that of realizing a consumption project by putting together resources in a...
This research investigated the relationship between three elements – core service quality, relational service quality- and perceived value – and customer satisfaction and future intentions across four services. The results revealed that core service quality (the promise) and perceived value were the most important drivers of customer satisfaction with relational service quality (the delivery) a significant but less important driver. A direct link between customer satisfaction and future intentions was established. The relative importance of the three drivers of satisfaction varied among services. Specifically, the importance of core service quality and perceived value was reversed depending on the service. A major conclusion was that both perceived value and service quality dimensions should be incorporated into customer satisfaction models to provide a more complete picture of the drivers of satisfaction.
This paper aimed to investigate the applicability of the SERVQUAL model in predicting customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intentions in one of the segments of the sport tourism industry, named outdoors. Two hundred and eighty seven (N = 287) individuals took part in the study. These individuals participated in an outdoor program that took place in the lake Plasteera, Greece, and included activities such as lake canoe/kayak, orienteering, and archery. Service quality was measured by the SERVQUAL scale, satisfaction was measured by Oliver (1980) scale, and behavioral intentions were measured by Ajzen and Fishbein (1977) scale. Two sets of data were collected: the first one before customers' participation in the programs in order to measure their quality expectations, and the second one after customers' participation in the program, in order to measure their quality perceptions. The gap scores were calculated, and these scores were used in order to predict customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The results of the study did not provide support for the applicability of SERVQUAL in outdoor services. The five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model predicted very low amount of variances in both the satisfaction and behavioral intentions variables. These results indicate the need for further research on the factors that determine customer satisfaction in outdoor settings.
Reports on a study that applied the well- established SERVQUAL methodological instrument to an investigation of those hotels in Crete that have adopted the ISO 9000 quality standard. Three service gaps are explored through a questionnaire survey of guests and managers in ten Cretan hotels. The study finds that there is a divergence between the perceptions of service quality of guests and managers, and that the greatest gaps exist in hotels of the highest quality classification. Finally, some implications of the ISO standard in hotels are discussed.
Investigates the elements which contribute to service quality for
customers of the hotel industry in Istanbul. Examines whether the
quality dimensions included in the SERVQUAL model apply in an
international environment, specifically in Turkey. Searches for
additional dimensions, identified by customers, which should be included
in the service quality construct. Measures the level of importance of
each specific dimension for the users of hotel services in Turkey.
Concludes that users of Turkish four– and five-star hotels may
expect to receive friendly, courteous, hygienic and expert service but
without special personalized attention.
Forms the first part of a two-part investigation, exploring the relationship between quality service and customer expectations in the Northern Ireland hotel industry. Notes that, in line with customers’ demands for higher and higher service quality, the Province’s tourism sector has recognized the need to raise its profile from the back-seat position it has taken for some years. Details the Northern Ireland Tourism and Hospitality Training Council’s introduction, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Quality Centre, of a total quality management programme, and reports the findings of a study, using the SERVQUAL instrument, carried out on two hotels within the Province, one of which has successfully implemented the new programme.
In tourism management literature, there are numerous research papers focusing on the determinants of the customers' destination evaluations and how they affect each other. The chief variables to be examined in the literature have been customer satisfaction, perceived value, behavioural intention and service quality. In this study, the authors were inspired by the ‘indirect model’ by Cronin et al. (2000) and generated a conceptual model to determine the overall service quality of a destination and its effect on perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioural intention by structural equation modelling technique. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The purpose of the "Lake Powell' case is to help students of Strategic Management learn the process of strategic management. This case can provide an opportunity for the students to learn strategy formulation and implementation along with some of the current issues such as "cooking the books". Some sections of the Lake Powell case are real life situations, but all of the numbers and most of operations information are fictitious. Four experienced and knowledgeable men started Lake Powell Company with many opportunities and strength. However the company has lost money in the last five years. Students analyze, formulate and write an implementation of a strategy to save this company. Students then try to answer the following questions. What should be the proposed plan to Richmond for the Marina in order to have an effective, efficient, and profitable operation? How would it be funded? However the instructor will look at other scenarios and ask the students to figure out the four partner's real goal.
This study aims to test and compare the behavioral intentions of customers in mobile communication services in two countries, Turkey and Germany. The model examines the direct and mediating effects among reputation, satisfaction, service quality and perceived value constructs as the antecedents of behavioral intentions. Two sets of data were collected by survey, 230 from Turkey and 217 from Germany. Results reveal that service quality, satisfaction, perceived value and reputation have direct effects on behavioral intentions with some differences between countries. Additionally, the mediating effect of perceived value between service quality and behavioral intentions is observed for both countries. Suggestion for managers and future researches are presented.
textlessptextgreaterThe authors investigate the conceptualization and measurement of service quality and the relationships between service quality, consumer satisfaction, and purchase intentions. A literature review suggests that the current operationalization of service quality confounds satisfaction and attitude. Hence, the authors test (1) an alternative method of operationalizing perceived service quality and (2) the significance of the relationships between service quality, consumer satisfaction, and purchase intentions. The results suggest that (1) a performance-based measure of service quality may be an improved means of measuring the service quality construct, (2) service quality is an antecedent of consumer satisfaction, (3) consumer satisfaction has a significant effect on purchase intentions, and (4) service quality has less effect on purchase intentions than does consumer satisfaction. Implications for managers and future research are discussed.
This study proposes and tests an integrative model to examine the relations among service quality, value, image, satisfaction, and loyalty in China. Analysis of survey data from 118 customers of a Chinese mobile communications company reveals that service quality directly influences both perceived value and image perceptions, that value and image influence satisfaction, that corporate image influences value, and that both customer satisfaction and value are significant determinants of loyalty. Thus, value has both a direct and indirect (through satisfaction) impact on customer loyalty. Other variables mediate the impact of both service quality and corporate image on customer loyalty.
Tourists' behaviors often differ from those in the home environment, yet researchers have also found that tourists retain some home behaviors in the pleasure-tourism environment. These differences have been explained in the literature, although researchers have not attempted to predict individuals' actions while engaging in tourism. The LIP behaviors framework was developed from the literature to predict individuals' behaviors while on pleasure travel in relation to their home-based behaviors. Four concepts (compensatory, spill-over/familiarity, liminal, and liminoid) were used to construct the framework, which may serve as a basis for future study.RésuméUn cadre théorique pour les comportements du tourisme d'agrément. Les comportements des touristes sont souvent différents des comportements habituels; pourtant, les chercheurs ont trouvé que les touristes gardent quelques comportements habituels dans l'environnement du tourisme d'agrément. Ces différences ont été expliquées dans la littérature, bien que les chercheurs n'aient pas essayé de prédire les actions des individus pendant qu'ils font des voyages d'agrément. Le “cadre des comportements LIP” a été développéà partir de la littérature pour prédire le comportement des individus qui font des voyages d'agrément par rapport à leur comportement habituel. Quatre concepts (compensatoire, effet d'entraînement/familiarité, liminaire, liminoïde) ont été utilisés pour constituer le cadre, qui pourra servir de base pour des études futures.
The research described in this study replicates and extends the Cronin and Taylor [Cronin JJ, Taylor SA. Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension. J Mark 1992:55–68 (August).] study suggestion that service quality be measured using a performance-only index (SERVPERF) as opposed to the gap-based SERVQUAL scale. The intent of the research was to examine the ability of the performance-only measurement approach to capture the variance in consumers' overall perceptions of service quality across three studies. For the first study, the original Cronin and Taylor data were obtained and a replication of their study was undertaken using a recursive form of their non-recursive model in an effort to avoid the abnormal parameter estimates they reported. The replication successfully duplicated their finding as to the superiority of the performance-only measurement of service quality. The second and third studies included new data in which different measures of the constructs examined in Cronin and Taylor were employed in order to enhance the validity of the findings. The results from these two studies lent strong support again for the superiority of the performance-only approach to the measurement of service quality. In addition, both the replication and the two new studies were used to extend Cronin and Taylor's investigation of the service quality–consumer satisfaction relationship. The results of all three studies indicate that service quality is properly modeled as an antecedent of satisfaction.
In a competitive environment of frequent and rapid change, electronic business (e-business), whose supply, production, and logistics and distribution networks are enabled digitally, is increasingly dependent on electronic interconnections that are innovative in their functionality. Conceivably, its ability to deliver functions and services is closely associated with and helpful for the completion of employees’ tasks and jobs, leading to service quality being critically important for both the employees and e-business (EB). On the other hand, since EB utilizes enterprise applications, user satisfaction, as a surrogate measure of information system (IS) or information technology (IT) effectiveness/success is also important for enterprise applications success. Thus, this research attempts to extrapolate the results of marketing research concerning customers’ perceptions of service quality and IS/IT research as to employees’ perceptions of service quality with EB. First, we revise the SERVQUAL instrument to fit the new context of EB and measure employees’ perceived service quality with EB. Based on a survey of 161 respondents practicing mostly in seven international electronic businesses in Taiwan, a 13-item EB-SERVQUAL instrument is proposed. This can be used to improve and diagnose the service quality of EB. Second, we examine user satisfaction with enterprise applications and its causal link in relation to service quality with EB. The instrument and our findings in this paper will be valuable to researchers and practitioners interested in designing, implementing, and managing EB.
Maritime tourism is a special interest tourism, showing significant demand increase worldwide. The activities of cruising, yachting and coastal tourism shipping constitute the Greek market of maritime tourism. The aim of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of the maritime tourism industry on the major macroeconomic factors of the Greek economy. The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) has been applied by several countries to estimate the economic impacts of the traditionally designated tourism related industries, as well as all industries participating in the tourist economy (Strathclyde University,2004), but not for the economic effects of special interest tourism, as maritime tourism. Up until today there has not been any application of the method in Greece neither for the total tourism industry, nor for a specific tourism “sector”. The investigation of the theoretical and empirical frames of maritime tourism in Greece as well as the adaptation of Tourism Satellite Account tables, are a preconditioned fulfilment of the research. Since the TSA tables require information with economic value, which is not found in the recorded data by many public services, primary research has been conducted in order to collect necessary data. The data obstacle became higher since maritime tourism is not an immiscible activity but a combination of other sectors that's why the overall estimation and evaluation of the sector demands data from different but related sources. The paper concludes by presenting the final results of the economic impacts of maritime tourism on the major macroeconomic values of the Greek economy.
This paper examines the economic impacts of yachting on the Greek economy. The contribution of yachting to major macroeconomic values and its impact on the Greek economy in 2004 are evaluated with the use of the tourism satellite account (TSA). The method has been applied by several countries to estimate the economic impacts of the traditionally designated tourism-related industries, as well as all industries participating in the tourist economy but not for the economic effects of special interest tourism (such as yachting). To date, there has been no application of the method in Greece either for the total tourism industry or for a specific tourism “sector”. The adaptation of TSA tables, maintaining the harmonization with the OECD directives and definitions which are approved and accepted internationally, is a precondition of the research. To achieve the research aims, both theoretical and empirical aspects of yachting in Greece were investigated. Data from public sources have been included in the TSA tables. Since the tables require information with economic value, which is not found in the data recorded by many public services, primary research was conducted to collect this necessary information. The paper concludes by presenting the impacts of yachting on the major macroeconomic values of the Greek economy, such as tourist consumption, gross domestic product, balance of invisible resources, national income, employment, investments, public revenues (taxes).
The authors employ a modified SERVQUAL approach to understanding the relationships among patients' perceptions of inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room services and their overall perceptions of service quality, satisfaction with their care, and willingness to recommend the hospital's services to others. Three models of these perceptions and related behavioral variables are developed. Dominating these models is a dimension labeled "patient confidence," which has a significant impact on nearly all measures of patient satisfaction.