SERVQUAL and the Northern Ireland hotel sector: a comparative analysis ‐ part 1

Forms the first part of a two‐part investigation, exploring the relationship between quality service and customer expectations in the Northern Ireland hotel industry. Notes that, in line with customers’ demands for higher and higher service quality, the Province’s tourism sector has recognized the need to raise its profile from the back‐seat position it has taken for some years. Details the Northern Ireland Tourism and Hospitality Training Council’s introduction, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Quality Centre, of a total quality management programme, and reports the findings of a study, using the SERVQUAL instrument, carried out on two hotels within the Province, one of which has successfully implemented the new programme.