Measuring Service Quality of Ski Resorts: An Approach to Identify the Consumer Profile

Abstract

This study determined the consumer's profile in winter sports, using their degree of satisfaction with services provided by a ski resort. A questionnaire was administered to 229 tourists/visitors and analyzed their satisfaction according to five factors: facilities and equipment; attributes of the slopes; resort services; restaurants, accommodation and social activities; and also about the access to the resort. Determination between levels of satisfaction indicated by different consumer segments was performed using a cluster analysis. The clusters identified were: partially satisfied, dissatisfied, dissatisfied with everything, satisfied with everything. In relation to gender, no significant differences were identified in any cluster. With regard to experience to visited other ski resorts, significant differences were found between tourists/visitors which have already done, comparing with the individuals who never been in a similar context. It was found that only 5.2% of consumers who have had similar experiences with other ski resorts were satisfied with all services provided. The results of this study enable to the managers identify the attributes by which tourists/visitors have a higher level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction and foremost identify the valences which can be subject to some kind of improvement. This approach enables the adaptation of services according the preferences and expectations of tourists/visitors, with the prospect of incrementing consumer loyalty.

The influence of marital status on customer-centric measures in the context of a ski resort using the importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) framework

“…Regarding the profile of a ski resort customer, it is critical to understand the expectations that customers consider before travelling (destination attributes), since these expectations will directly affect the degree of satisfaction after the visiting experience (Miragaia et al ., 2016). The degree of satisfaction after experiencing the services is crucial because it may have an influence on revisit intentions to skiing destinations.…”

Auditing Marketing and the Use of Social Media at Ski Resorts

“…The satisfaction of skiers depends on the fun factor, the transport, the employees, and the lodgings [1]; ski-lifts, slopes quality, restaurants, equipment, and employees [5]; installations and equipment, features of the mountains, resort services, restaurants, lodging and social activities, and access [11].…”

“…Miragaia, Conde and Soares (2016) [11] Portugal Cluster and factor analysis and ANOVA Five factors affect satisfaction: Installations and equipment; features of the mountains; resort services; restaurants, lodging and social activities; and access. No gender differences were observed, but differences were noted between the experience and motivation of the skier.…”

“…Over 80 countries from all over the world offer winter sports activities, in all, at approximately 2000 ski resorts. Some have a long tradition in winter sports (for example, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy), while others, such as China and Eastern European countries, are emergent destinations [11].…”

“…The importance of those destinations makes it advisable to gain an understanding of the behavior and, for example, the attitudes that are determined by the emotions that they awaken [15] and user preferences, and the surrounding environment. The development of innovative communication strategies and the application of positioning and segmentation strategies for visitors, and both amateur and professional skiers, may also be included [1,5,11,[16][17][18][19].…”