Original scientific paper
Managing tourists’ needs and expectations: ِAn empirical analysis of the Egyptian airline sector
Ghada Abdllah
; Tourism Studies Department, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
Amany Refaat Mohamed
; Tourism Studies Department, Menoufiya University, El-Sadat city, Egypt
Moustafa Ahmed Mekawy
; Tourism Studies Department, Menoufiya University, El-Sadat city, Egypt
Abstract
An in-depth review of related literature has revealed that a majority of travel and tourism researchers tend to define quality as meeting tourists’ needs and expectations. Since tourists (Passengers’) expectations of service quality may vary at different stages in the service process, it has been strongly argued that in practice, most airlines measure passenger perceptions of their service offerings in order to evaluate and understand the airline’s performance level without clear knowledge of tourists’ expectations for service in each stage. Consequently, Lack of understanding or misunderstanding such expectations could pose serious problems in resource allocation decisions. On the one hand, this study therefore attempts to develop a new service quality management instrument called TNE-Matrix, to be used as a futuristic and a predictive airline strategic planning tool, which integrate airline service bundle planning, service delivery process enhancement and service process control. The results from the survey of the Egyptian airline frontline managers and employees suggest that TNE-Matrix is highly valued as a predictive and a daily management tool, used to empower frontline employees to act on information received regarding the passengers’ needs and expectations. On the other hand, it uses SERVQUAL model to measure perceived airline service quality from the passengers’ viewpoint. The results of both steps indicated that enhancing the communication process between tourists and the airline frontline staff, and particularly flight attendants, has been highlighted as a key benefit of using the TNE-Matrix in the services delivery process and consequently in managing tourists’ needs and expectations proactively.
Keywords
tourists’ needs and expectations; airline service quality; SERVQUAL; TNE-Matrix; Egypt
Hrčak ID:
24648
URI
Publication date:
5.10.2007.
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