Mystery Shopper Programs in the Tourism Sector

Abstract

In today's world, there is fierce competition in the tourism sector, and therefore, the businesses need to improve their service qualities constantly and enhance their service processes to meet customer expectations swiftly and effectively. In recent years, tourism operators have been focusing on customer-oriented research and programs to avoid negative results that may be caused by unsatisfied customers. The service quality of tourism businesses is directly based on the performance of the employees; therefore, it is very important to evaluate the performances of the employees and improve service processes to avoid potential problems. Mystery shopper programs show the true picture of the services offered to the guests by the tourism businesses. Therefore, mystery shopper programs are widely used in the world for the evaluation of employees, especially in service-provider companies. The mystery shopper programs provide information on service quality, employee performance, and customer satisfaction, which is used by the businesses to improve or develop their service delivery processes.