Relationships Between Student Characteristics and Perception of the Quality of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Courses According to the SERVQUAL Scale

Abstract

This study sought to identify relationships between the characteristics of students and their perceptions of the quality of tourism, hospitality and leisure courses provided by the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina (FISC) at the Florianopolis-Mainland campus by using the SERVQUAL scale. The study’s methodological approach is classified as a quantitative, descriptive survey in which regression analysis was used to assess relationships between the respondents’ characteristics (independent variables) and perceived quality (dependent variables). The resulting data indicated that the respondents’ characteristics are more related to the perceived quality than to their expectation of it. Still, it was also observed that the perceived quality was statistically significantly related to age, including the variables ‘do not know/do not want to take another course at FISC’ and ‘intend to start a business’. These results will allow the managers to design strategies for maximisation of the quality of services on the basis of knowing that students who ‘do not know/do not want to take another course at FISC’, ‘choose the course in the field in which they already work’ and ‘choose the course intending to open a business’ have expectations and perceptions of the courses.