Impact Of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Maldives Tourism Industry

This research attempts to find the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and retention in Maldives tourism industry. To measure the variables used in the research, a 5-point Likert type questionnaire for performance-only-measure was developed, as in SERVPERF model. A total of 30 questions, including the 22 questions in original SERVQUAL scale, along with additional questions to measure the dependant variables, Customer Satisfaction was included. The independent variables used were, Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Reliability. A descriptive and explanatory research design was selected for this study. A total of 120 samples from different types of tourist establishments, such as Resorts, Guest Houses and Safari Boats were taken using random probability sampling. The data collected was analysed using SPSS 21.0 software, performing descriptive, regression and correlation analysis. The results of this study confirmed three aspects of service quality, Responsiveness, Tangibles and reliability to have positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction. According to the analysis done, Assurance and Empathy does not show an impact on customer satisfaction and retention. As this study was done across all types of tourist establishments in Maldives, a general view is portrayed, and to determine the exact impact of a dimension on a particular tourist establishment, future study is anticipated