Quality and satisfaction: The case of nautical tourist services in the Region of Alto Douro Vinhateiro – Portugal

Abstract

Purpose – Organizations of tourist services, in the context of económica and financial crisis, seeking to combine the concept of quality to the satisfaction of internal customers (employees) and external customers (tourists), so as to ensure the provision of a personalized service excellence. This paper aims to provide an overview of the quality of the tourist services effected in the nautical Alto Douro Vinhateiro (ADV) – Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – This project work was applied to 117 internal customers (employees), through the application of a survey of various nautical tourist services organizations in the ADV. Findings – The results obtained demonstrate that there are aspects to be improved in these organizations, so that employees feel satisfied, namely: concern for employees; specific training; working conditions; greater dialogue between supervisors and employees; allocation of workload and time off. Originality/value – The employees´ satisfaction (internal customers) hasn´t been studied in nautical tourist services, due to the fact that the main approach has been to analys the external customers satisfaction.