Quality in Tourism

N/A

The curricular unit includes lectures, theoretical-practical classes and practical sessions, combining interactive teaching with the analysis of standards and technical documents, discussion of scientific articles, case solving, application of quality tools, analysis of data and indicators, collaborative work, oral presentations and fieldwork.

Interactive teaching and discussion of concepts, standards and research support learning outcomes 1, 2 and 5. Exercises, case studies and the application of quality tools develop learning outcome 3. The analysis of indicators, customer feedback and digital information addresses learning outcome 4. Oral presentations develop synthesis, communication and argumentation skills. Fieldwork and applied diagnoses address learning outcome 6 by linking knowledge, evidence, critical analysis and improvement proposals in real settings. The assessment components complement one another in evaluating knowledge, application, communication and diagnostic ability.

By the end of the curricular unit, students should be able to:

1. Critically analyse the development of quality concepts and approaches and their application to tourism services and destinations.

2. Assess technical, functional, perceived and experiential quality in different tourism contexts.

3. Apply models, tools and techniques for diagnosing, measuring and improving quality in tourism services.

4. Define and interpret performance, satisfaction, complaint, reputation and visitor-experience indicators using different information sources.

5. Understand and assess quality management systems, standards, certification and auditing, integrating quality, accessibility and sustainability.

6. Produce evidence-based quality diagnoses and improvement proposals for tourism organisations and destinations from an integrated stakeholder perspective.

1. Quality in tourism: development, principles and strategic value; specific features of tourism services and experiences.

2. Perceived quality and experience: expectations, satisfaction, value, loyalty, service failure and recovery; quality across physical and digital touchpoints.

3. Assessment models and tools: gap models, SERVQUAL/SERVPERF, Kano, importance-performance analysis, customer journey and benchmarking.

4. Process management and continuous improvement: process mapping, PDCA, root-cause analysis, quality tools, complaints and corrective actions.

5. Management systems, standards and certification: ISO 9001 and tourism-related standards; auditing, risk, accessibility and links with sustainability.

6. Measurement and monitoring: KPIs, satisfaction, quality costs, online reputation, reviews, digital data and decision-support dashboards.

7. Integrated destination quality: governance, stakeholders and residents, accessibility, sustainability, innovation and territorial diagnosis; case analysis and fieldwork.

The Inforestudante digital platform supports the provision of materials, assignment submission and feedback.

A minimum final grade of 10 out of 20 is required to pass.

A. Continuous assessment - three compulsory components, with a minimum grade of 7 out of 20 in each:

1. Individual written test: 50%.

2. Oral presentations of assignments: 20%, individually assessed.

3. Practical classes and fieldwork: 30%, individually assessed, with assignments submitted via NONIO.

B. Assessment by examination - two compulsory components, with a minimum grade of 7 out of 20 in each:

1. Individual written test, lasting 60 minutes: 60%.

2. Individual oral defence of a syllabus topic, lasting up to 15 minutes: 40%.

NAO