Description:
ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN HOSPITALITY SERVICES FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY IN TANZANIA By Lucy M Mboma and Christian Kirango
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to examine the influence of service quality dimension on customer satisfaction in hospitality service for the tourism industry in Tanzania. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches generated data on quality services dimentional attributes from tourist and actors in hospitality tourism industry to maximize profit. The results showed that more than 70% of tourists were 31 t0 60 years of age. Their purposes of visits were different but those on leisure were 80.6. % sports, adventure and culture business. Service dimentional factors; reliability, assurance tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness have positive effect on customer satisfaction in hospitality services for tourism industry in Tanzania. Since custome satisfaction was expressed by more than one variables (dimentional factors) multiple regression analysis expedieted the strength of relationship. R2 or coefficient of determination was 0.659 that indicated that 65.9% of variation in customer satisfaction was explained by the model. The Assessment of the results showed relative importance of service dimension factors where Tangibility, Responsiveness, Reliablity, Empathy and Assurance (TRREA) were significantly important in that order. The study also revealed that some challenges including customers not being provided with services as requested or promised and accommodation services were not of standard or did not meet international standards, cuisine were not delivered as per recipe indicated, some of the services were too expensie and deployment of unhospitable or unempathetic service providers. In addition supporting services to hospitality services such as airport and transport facilities were not user friendly in terms of facilities and people, creating service gaps. This study recommends managers and companies to go professional and invest to increase and improve service quality attributes through training of their staff on empathy and assurance, to attain maximum customer satisfaction. In addition, the government improve general infrastructure in order to create conducive environment for the industry and attract more tourists.