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Service Quality Evaluation in the Tourism Industry: A SWOT Analysis Approach

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Optimization Theory, Decision Making, and Operations Research Applications

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics ((PROMS,volume 31))

Abstract

The quality evaluation of the provided tourism services constitutes the most important issue for the viability of this particular sector and the improvement of the total tourism product. This paper presents the results of a tourist satisfaction survey that took place in the island of Mykonos during the period of May–September 2009. The final sample consists of 1,026 questionnaires that were distributed to Greek and foreign tourists during their departure from the island (harbor and airport). The main objective of this paper is to evaluate tourists’ satisfaction and identify the strong and the weak points of the tourism services offered. These results may help the development of a strategic plan for the quality improvement of the overall tourism product. Beyond descriptive statistical techniques, the analysis of the collected data is based on the multicriteria method MUSA. The method is able to combine satisfaction importance and performance results and provides a SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis for the whole set of the tourist satisfaction criteria. The presented analytical results reveal that the main strong points of the offered tourist product are the fame and the natural beauties of the island, as well as the high level of expenses. On the other hand, the most important weak points concern the small duration of stay, as well as the low level of satisfaction in specific service quality criteria (local transports, information, and environment).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, University Campus, Kounoupidiana, GR73100, Chania, Greece

    Marianna Tsitsiloni, Evangelos Grigoroudis & Constantin Zopounidis

Authors
  1. Marianna Tsitsiloni
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  2. Evangelos Grigoroudis
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  3. Constantin Zopounidis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marianna Tsitsiloni .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece

    Athanasios Migdalas

  2. , Economical and Social Sciences, University of Macedonia, Loggou-Tourpali, Naoussa, 59200, Greece

    Angelo Sifaleras

  3. , Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, Egnatia St. 156, Thessaloniki, 54006, Greece

    Christos K. Georgiadis

  4. , Department of Marketing and Operations M, University of Macedonia, Agiou Dimitriou 49, Edessa, 58200, Greece

    Jason Papathanasiou

  5. , Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, Egnatia Street 156, Thessaloniki, 54006, Greece

    Emmanuil Stiakakis

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Tsitsiloni, M., Grigoroudis, E., Zopounidis, C. (2013). Service Quality Evaluation in the Tourism Industry: A SWOT Analysis Approach. In: Migdalas, A., Sifaleras, A., Georgiadis, C., Papathanasiou, J., Stiakakis, E. (eds) Optimization Theory, Decision Making, and Operations Research Applications. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, vol 31. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5134-1_18

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