The road to quality enhancement in tourism

The aim of this paper is to identify reasons for current quality problems in tourism and possible ways of enhancing tourism quality. To attain this goal, recent initiatives directed at quality improvement in tourism are first presented. Primary and secondary data have been utilised to achieve this. Systems theory is utilised in order to recognise the reasons for current quality problems. Evaluation of quality management processes is based on Dale and Plunkett’s model of levels in the evolution of quality management. The SERVQUAL model and the benchmarking technique are critically evaluated. The existence and inability of closing the tourism quality perception gap and the tourism quality control gap have been identified as chief causes of private sector tourism quality systems ineffectiveness. Three conditions of tourism quality enhancement have been formulated and a new tourism quality system that complies with these requirements has been proposed. A need for establishing a Total Quality Tourism Consortium as a formal body is emphasised.