TOURIST RECEIVED SERVICE QUALITY OF THE HOTELS IN TOURISM INDUSTRY IN TRINCOMALEE DISTRICT

Abstract

This study aims at measuring and evaluating the service quality of hotels and the tourism industry in the Trincomalee district in light of the international SERVQUAL Model. It also tackles the extent to which these hotels cover model dimensions. Moreover, it aims at figuring out the main gaps difference between expectations and perceptions in order to provide the ways of solutions to develop the level of quality at hotels operating in the Trincomalee district. The researcher used the descriptive statistical analysis methodology by conducting a questionnaire by using SPSS. The sample of the study is a random sampling which is the complete list of random including hotel's customers and guests, consisting of 200 participants from 25 top hotels in Trincomalee district. It is noted that the number of valid questionnaires amounts to 200 where the researcher recovered 154 questionnaires; 46 out often are dropped due to their invalid responses. Moreover, the questionnaire consists of five dimensions. After the interpretation of the analyzed data, the study concluded the following: First, there are gaps between expectation and perception by varying percentages where the total mean of the model dropped by 1.064 represented by 22.81Yo. Second, there is considerable and significant weakness regarding the administrative and operational side which led to the existence of such gaps. Third, there is a lack of a quality control unit to monitor and evaluate the quality of the hotels operating in the Trincomalee. This study recommended the importance of conducting training courses for the administrative and operational departments as a way to improve their skills and , capabilities. The study recommended activating the role of the Ministry of Tourism in establisher and developing rules and regulations to maintain and monitor the level of quality at the hotels operating in the Trincomalee. In addition, it is recommended to develop a quality control unit inside hotel institutions in the Trincomalee to monitor and evaluate the provided quality or allocate a qualified person to be responsible for quality control. Finally, it is recommended to apply the (SQ) Model (SERVQUAL) which supports measures and evaluates service quality in the hotel and tourism industry. Keywords: Service Quality, Hotel and tourism industry, SERVQUAL model, Trincomalee District