A study on the classification of travel service quality using the measurement of potential customer satisfaction index and the Kano model

Abstract

This study’s aim is to classify travel service quality using the Kano model. The classified results were used to compute the customer satisfaction coefficient (CS-coefficient) and the potential customer satisfaction index (PCSI index) to overcome the limitations of the model. The purpose of this study was to find out the travel service classification from the customers’ view and also to suggest useful implications about service quality in the travel industry. To achieve this purpose, 35 items to use in the survey were extracted after a literature review. The online survey was conducted targeting travelers who had traveled overseas using travel agency products in the preceding three years. A total of 300 completed questionnaires were used for this study, and the results of the analyses are as follows. Items were classified as attractive (four items), must-be (12 items), one-dimensional (nine items), and indifferent (10 items) according to the Kano model classification standard. These items of travel service quality classifications were used to compute the CS-coefficient to find out the differences among the items, and the PCSI index was calculated to figure out which items could be improved rapidly when the item was unsatisfactory. The results showed which service items could highly satisfy customers and which were rated low based on the current position of the customers. Based on these results, practical implications to improve travel service quality and customer satisfaction in the travel industry are suggested.