TTLV: Research on the quality of cooking classes offered to tourists in hotels in Hue City.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name:Song Ye Qing            

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: June 13, 1981

4. Place of birth: Thua Thien Hue

5. Decision on student admission: No. 1501/2012/QD-XHNV-SDH, dated August 6, 2012, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process: Thesis deadline was extended from October 2014 to January 2015.

7. Thesis title:"Research on the quality of cooking classes offered to tourists in hotels in Hue City"

8. Major: Tourism Studies (Pilot Training Program)

9. Scientific supervisor:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thi Tam– Head of the Faculty of Tourism – Hue University

10. Summary of the thesis results:

Following the introduction of the research problem, the thesis has presented some basic concepts about:Services, cooking classes, quality, service quality. Based on that, the thesis delves into analyzing the needs, characteristics, significance, and organizational process of cooking classes.

The theoretical basis for service quality assessment is explored across four dimensions: service characteristics, factors influencing service quality, assessment criteria, and service quality assessment models.

The theoretical issues mentioned above form the basis for conducting a survey on the current state of culinary training activities in hotels:

- Based on secondary data and survey data, analyze tourist information and identify key factors influencing the choice of attending cooking classes at the following hotels: Villa Hue, Hue Imperial City, and Pilgrimage Village.

- Using a Likert scale with 24 specific indicators based on the 5-factor service quality model (SERQUAL) by Parasuraman and colleagues (1994), and applying the IPA (Importance - Performance Analysis) and SERVPERF models to analyze and evaluate the current state of cooking service quality in hotels.

- This allows for a comparison of service quality at the hotels under study, as well as the identification of key indicators and improvement factors (IFs).

Based on surveys, analyses, and assessments of the current situation, this thesis evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, and key factors for improving the quality of cooking classes. Combining this with theoretical frameworks, it proposes the following groups of solutions:

- A group of solutions aimed at enhancing customer service responsibility;

- A group of solutions to enhance trust in service delivery;

- A group of solutions to improve the service capabilities of the service staff;

- A group of solutions shared with customers;

- A group of solutions involving investment and improvement of infrastructure.

The solutions are relatively independent within the system. However, there are always relationships, interactions, and mutual influences between them, promoting each other to improve the quality of cooking classes for tourists.

11. Practical applications:

- To identify criteria for evaluating quality and determine the key factors influencing the quality of culinary training services in hotels. This will guide the application of service quality assessment models and identify factors for improving service quality.

- To propose solutions that tourism managers, service providers, and directly involved teams can apply to overcome, adjust, and further improve products and services, with the aim of bringing satisfaction to tourists participating in cooking classes in hotels in Hue city.

- This provides specific case studies on the application of service quality measurement models, enabling researchers to compare and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different models, as well as to apply them appropriately to specific service types, research resources and time, and especially to the practical management needs of businesses.

12. Future research directions:

- Expand the assessment of the quality of cooking classes in restaurants and hotels from the perspective of service provider managers.

- Apply additional service quality assessment models to test and compare the reliability of different service quality assessment models.

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Tong Diep Thanh 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: June 13, 1981 4. Place of birth: Thua Thien Hue province

5. Admission decision number: 1501/2012/QD-XHNV-SDH, Dated August 6, 2012

6. Changes in academic process: Extend the thesis from October 2014 to January 2015

7. Official thesis title:“Service quality on cooking class for tourists at hotels in Hue city”

8. Major: Tourism studies 9. Code: Experimental training program

10. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thi Tam – Dean of Hospitality and Tourism Faculty – Hue University

11. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

This thesis points out some basic concepts of service, cooking class service, quality, service quality, etc…On this basis, the thesis analyzes deeply in needs, characteristics, meaning and cooking class process.

Literature review aims to address issues of service quality assessment which focuses on 4 aspects: characteristics of service, factors influencing on service quality, assessment criteria and assessment models on service quality.

Those are the basis to conduct surveys on cooking class in reality at hotels:

- Based on secondary sources and survey data to analyze tourist information and identify important factors deciding the choices of cooking class at the hotels: Villa Hue, Imperial hotel and spa, the Pilgrimage village.

- Using the Likert's scale with 24 attributes operationalized from the SERQUAL model of 5 dimensions (Parasuraman et. al, 1994), along with application of two other models for assessing service quality, namely: IPA (Importance - Performance Analysis) and SERVPERF, from which the results and comparisons could be made to provide better assessment and management implications cooking class service quality in Hue.

- On the basis of the survey, analysis and assessment of the current situation, this thesis has evaluated the strength, the weakness and key factors below in order to improve service quality of cooking class, which combines the literature review to suggest solutions:

-Solutions to improve the responsibilities of employees in serving guests;

-Solutions to enhance the reliability in providing services;

- Solutions to ensure service assurance through staff capacity improvement;

- Solutions to express empathy with customers;

- Solutions to invest, improve facilities.

The solutions are relatively independent in the system. However, there are relationship, interaction, effect and promotion among the solutions in the direction of improving service quality of cooking class for tourists.

12. Practical applicability:

- Pointing out criteria of quality assessment and identifying important factors affecting service quality of cooking class at hotels. From which apply service quality models as well as identify factors to improve service quality.

- Providing solutions for tourism managers, service providers and service staff to apply, fix, adjust and further improve products and service, with the purpose of satisfying customers when attending cooking class at hotels in Hue city.

13. Further research directions:

- Assessment of cooking class service quality at restaurants, hotels from service providers perspectives.

- Replication of the models and research methods to other quality assessment of other services in travel and tourism industry for testing and improving the applicability of the service quality models.