Service Quality and Customers’ Satisfaction of Tour and Travel Agencies in Addis Ababa
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the service quality and tourists’ satisfaction. This study also aims to explore the relationship between service quality dimensions and tourist’ satisfaction. To this end, the study has used the gap model of service quality with the application of SERVQUAL instrument. The five dimensions of SERVQUAL, namely responsiveness and assurance, reliability, empathy, resource and corporate image and tangibility were used to measure tourists’ expectations and perceptions towards the agencies services. Total sample of 203 respondents who have prior experience were selected with a non-probabilistic (convenience) sampling technique. According to the findings of the study, all the five SERVQAUL dimensions have shown a negative gap scores, implying that tourists’ perceptions of service quality performance in the agencies service fall below their expectations suggesting a low service quality which in turn notifies tourists’ dissatisfaction. Findings show that reliability dimension scored high in terms of customer expectation and in determining customer’s satisfaction. Finally, the study concluded that customers' expectations of service quality exceeded their perceptions, with the tangibility and reliability dimensions having the largest gap. Based on the findings recommendations were made to improve these two dimensions of service quality.
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Keywords
SERVQUAL, Tourists’ satisfaction, Tour and travel agencies