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Describes recent developments in the Northern Ireland tourist industry (following the ceasefire), which led to a 67 per cent increase in holiday traffic in 1995, and the impact of the recent return to violence. Investors in People is seen as a way of overcoming some of the problems brought about by a lack of training in the Northern Ireland tourism sector. Initiatives included a regional training strategy, a tourism training plan and a total quality management initiative as well as adopting the Investors in People standard.

Examines the importance of the quality issue to the future success of the Northern Ireland Tourism Product. Commences with an exposition of the main principles of quality management and goes on to review the development of various representative bodies and their respective functions in relation to quality enhancement of the Northern Ireland tourism product.

This paper addresses the issue of service quality evaluation within the higher education sector and stresses the need to develop measures that are both psychometrically and practically sound. The paper argues that recent debate surrounding the development of such measures has been too strongly geared toward their psychometric performance, with little regard for their practical value. While the paper supports the need to develop valid, reliable and replicable measures of service quality, it is suggested that educators must not lose sight of the original purpose for which these measures were designed, i.e. their practical value in informing continuous quality improvement efforts. It critiques the use of disconfirmation models and reports on a study of students’ perceptions of quality using importance‐performance analysis (IPA). The technique allows specific failings in the quality of support issues to be identified and their importance to a quality improvement programme assessed.

Forms the first part of a two‐part investigation, exploring the relationship between quality service and customer expectations in the Northern Ireland hotel industry. Notes that, in line with customers’ demands for higher and higher service quality, the Province’s tourism sector has recognized the need to raise its profile from the back‐seat position it has taken for some years. Details the Northern Ireland Tourism and Hospitality Training Council’s introduction, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Quality Centre, of a total quality management programme, and reports the findings of a study, using the SERVQUAL instrument, carried out on two hotels within the Province, one of which has successfully implemented the new programme.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the underexplored niche market potential of craft beer, especially as it may relate to independent food and beverage operations, as a means of gaining competitive advantage.

Data were collected through the distribution of a survey instrument to craft beer and home brewers, designed to assess the demographic profile, purchasing/restaurant selection, and decision behavior of this group and assess the likelihood of their future behavioral intentions toward continued participation in the craft beer segment.

The paper reveals that craft beer and micro brew pub success has been driven by the home brew movement and continues to gain market share at the expense of broad line food service and macro beer producers. The demographic profile of this group shows age range, income, and educational levels sufficient to drive continued growth. The high satisfaction and likelihood to recommend scores support this assessment.

The sample is limited to members of the Brewers Association, the American Home Brewers Association, and craft beer enthusiasts known to members of the organization. Additionally, the survey was administered electronically limiting participation to people comfortable with this medium.

F&B operators who demonstrate commitment to craft beer through server education, beverage list commitment, and supporting events can achieve market differentiation and dominance within the niche; leading ultimately to competitive advantage.

This research sheds light on underexplored areas of craft beer and the opportunity for independent F&B operators to identify and penetrate an increasingly important niche market, which to date has been viewed primarily from the perspective of microbrew pubs.

Seeks to investigate the conceptualization and measurement of service quality and its importance to the dive tourism industry. It reports the findings from a recently conducted study of dive tourist perceptions of service quality as they relate to a tour operator running tours on an artificial reef dive experience in Western Australia. The study also assesses the importance assigned by consumers to the various service quality attributes relative to those perceptions. The results are of significance to operators in that they identify clearly the managerial implications of providing a quality service during the dive tourism experience.

Disconfirmation models of service quality have attracted a lot of discussion about how consumers’ expectations are formed, but relatively little about the nature of their perceptions of service performance. This paper seeks to redress the absence of literature on the psychological underpinnings of perceptions in disconfirmation models of service quality. It argues that an individual’s perceptions may not be stable over time and that suppliers should be particularly interested in consumers’ perceptions at the time that the next repurchase decision is made. A model of the time elapsed effects of service quality perception is presented and research reported on a longitudinal survey of hotel customers’ perceptions.

Discusses the service quality matrix as one strategy in attaining and maintaining service excellence in relation to Northern Ireland’s hospitality record. Presents a set of guidelines based on the ideals and concepts of total quality management as a means to establishing Northern Ireland as a quality tourism destination to prospective travellers.

Some practitioners maintain that the main problem with introducing a quality management system such as ISO 9000, is the amount of paperwork required to maintain it. Many believe it is purely a bureaucratic paperwork exercise and managers are so busy chasing paper that they do not find time to concentrate on genuine quality and business improvement. This was recognized by managers of the Cowie Group plc, the major UK motor finance and specialist distribution, and bus operator, when introducing their formal quality system. Outlines a collaborative project with the University of Sunderland Business School, which assesses the feasibility of developing semi‐intelligent computer software which manages parts of the quality system and enables managers to concentrate on quality improvement of the overall business, and its various processes. It begins by discussing how the Cowie Group introduced a quality system to their operations and how this effected their activities. The next section discusses the practical, technical and cultural problems experienced when implementing this model, and how the group decided to resolve these using current computer technology. Concludes by highlighting problems associated with this and sets the ground rules for resolving these as part of the “semi‐intelligent quality system”.

Part 1 appeared in Managing Service Quality, Vol. 6 No. 4. Here discusses the value and application of the Investors In People initiative, its background and application as a means of improving people and people skills within (particularly) service operations. Outlines key principles of the IIP award, and the criteria for achieving the standards required. Moves on to the Northern Ireland hospitality sector for an application example, and considers survey results comparing customer perceptions of quality (based on the SERVQUAL model) from two hotels, one with IIP status and one without. Concludes that IIP is a worthwhile tool for the advancement of the sector.