The definition of quality in tourism

The result of a process which implies the

satisfaction of all the legitimate product and
service needs, requirements and expectations of
the consumer, at an acceptable price, in
conformity with mutually accepted contractual
conditions and the underlying quality
determinants such as safety and security,
hygiene, accessibility, transparency, authenticity
and harmony of the tourism activity concerned
with its human and natural environment
The importance of quality for the
tourism destinations

quality is a key element for the competitiveness of

the tourism industry

Tourism Quality Priorities at the international level:

1. international harmonization;
2. recognition and dissemination of best practices;
3. standards and management systems intervening in
the quality of tourism activities, products and
destinations
Standards and quality management
systems

the star rating system is the one most in use

throughout the world, other symbols are also
used (diamonds, crowns etc.), sometimes
even in combination
consumers or their representative bodies are
in fact rarely consulted in the process of
establishing a system
The ISO system (9000/2000; 14000)

The number of tourist companies with ISO

certifications accounted for a small
percentage of the total number of ISO
certifications in each country - the recent
trend is the support of ISO certification by the
non-international quality systems in tourism
The non-international quality
management systems

Local systems - the Valais Excellence

Management System
National systems - there are many
countries that have developed public quality
systems for tourism destinations
(Switzerland, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy)
- the "Quality Label for Swiss Tourism"
system Quality Our Passion
The EU perspective
In the European Union, promoting quality in tourism and tourist
products is a priority in the activities of the EU Commission

Four priority areas established by the EU Commission related to the

improvement of quality in the European Union Tourism Industry:
1. the establishment of a list of indicators for the measurement of the
quality improvement process;
2. the benchmarking of tourism destinations at the European level that
will help to ensure the quality improvement;
3. the non-financial support for tourism SMEs implementing quality
systems, for example, consultancy, business advice, fora, etc.;
4. a more intensive use of EU structural funds to improve the quality of
tourist products
Successful initiatives at EU level

the "
Manual for Evaluating the Quality Performance
of Tourist Destinations and Services, publi
shed in 2005

the project Stars in Europe HOTREC and

the EU Commission the creation of
Hotelstars Union - www.hotelstars.eu
 Quality Questionnaire - Romania

Q1. In your opinion, which tourism product or destination in your country deserve to be
labelled as quality destination?
Q2. In your opinion, which attributes, characteristics or technical specifications are
important for quality with respect to the destination identified under the previous
question?
Q3. In your opinion, what quality attributes make this tourism destination
- comparable to your competitors?
- inferior to your competitors?
- superior to your competitors?
- authentic and unique at regional level? (EU)
- authentic and unique at world level?
Q4. In your opinion, what quality attributes, including underlying quality determinants
(safety & security, hygiene, accessibility, etc.), need to be upgraded in your national
tourism development in order to compete successfully with your competitors.
Q5. What does your country do to communicate its tourism quality attributes and image to
potential visitors and consumers?