International tourists’ satisfaction with service quality at serengeti National park in Tanzania

Abstract

Quality of service is undeniably an important aspect to consider while assessing performance of any tourist destination. Visitors who experience service of good quality tend to be satisfied and may remain loyal to the specific destination. Cognizant of these facts, this study assessed tourists’ satisfaction with service quality at Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) located in the northern part of Tanzania. The study adopted a cross sectional research design and it involved a total of 1148 respondents who were international tourists. Data were collected by using structured questionnaire adapted from SERVQUAL tool. The findings revealed that tourists were satisfied with quality of tangibles found at SENAPA, reliability of service providers, responsiveness as well as empathy of service providers. Findings also showed that tourists were not satisfied with the assurance dimension of service quality which was concerned with service providers’ knowledge, courtesy and ability to inspire trust and confidence to visitors. The study concluded that customer care services among services providers in SENAPA were poor. The study recommends service providers at SENAPA to use modern and relevant facilities and improve customer care services through training their employees.