Assessing international tourists’ perceptions of service quality at Air Mauritius Girish Prayag Department of Management, Faculty of Law and Management, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius Abstract Purpose – The aim of this paper is to assess the service quality of a small airline, Air Mauritius, using the SERVQUAL model and to determine the relative importance attributed to service quality dimensions by international tourists. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 140 international airline passengers travelling essentially for a leisure trip was administered the SERVQUAL instrument to determine their expectations and perceptions of service. A combination of in-flight and mail surveys was used for data collection leading to an overall response rate of 20.2 per cent. Findings – The paper finds that service quality structural dimensions are context- and culture-specific. Four factors are perceived as influencing perceptions of service, service efficiency and affect being the most important, service personalisation, reliability and tangibles the least important. Empathy as a service dimension is valued more than assurance. Customer satisfaction and willingness to recommend the airline is primarily dependent on service efficiency and affect. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is relatively small and biased towards South African passengers, but the study is exploratory in nature. The starting-point for service improvements at Air Mauritius is better management of service reliability. The company is able to create high perceptions of service using tangible cues. Practical implications – The generation of a vision of excellence supported by contact employees’ empowerment should improve perceptions of service. There is potentially a link between expectations of service levels at destination and tourists’ expectations from the flag carrier. Originality/value – Often smaller airline companies have to resort to strategic alliances and service differentiation to survive in this globally integrated industry. The paper fulfils the gap in the existing literature on service quality management in small airlines. Keywords Customer services quality, Perception, Airlines, SERVQUAL, Customer satisfaction, Mauritius Paper type Research paper Introduction Mauritius has emerged as one of the best performing tourist destination in Africa over the last ten years. The country has registered a growth of 82 per cent in tourist arrivals over the period 1993 to 2002. Gross receipts from tourism amounted to approximately US$655 million and 681, 648 tourists arrivals were recorded during the year 2002 (Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, Mauritius, 2002). The profile of international visitors has also changed with the targeting of new markets such as India, China, Russia and Eastern European Countries. Traditionally, Mauritius has relied on France, Reunion Island and UK as principal tourist generating markets. The success of the tourism industry can be attributed to the strong and ongoing partnership of the local airline, Air Mauritius (MK), with its partners Air France, British Airways and more recently The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0265-671X.htm IJQRM 24,5 492 International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management Vol. 24 No. 5, 2007 pp. 492-514 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-671X DOI 10.1108/02656710710748367