An Empirical Study to Link CRM Initiatives with Service Quality Perception, Tourist Satisfaction and Des Tination Loyalty

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of the most critical business processes being adopted by the hospitality and tourism industry which is believed to augment perceived service quality of the tourists leading to the elevation in satisfaction level and subsequent repatronization of destination. CRM philosophy, an integration of people, process and technology, provides a proactive platform to the service providers to design, develop and deliver the service offers with adequate personalization to fit the specific requirements of the customers. This study was taken up following the identification of dearth of research in the area of linking CRM initiatives with service quality perception, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. The researchers have used a novel approach to index the CRM process on the basis of quantifying the performance of CRM components. Santiniketan in West Bengal has evolved as a tourist destination over the years following the visionary Rabindranath Tagore's initiatives of setting up an educational venture namely Visva Bharati University and by virtue of a number of cultural and ethnic events centering the university. The study revealed a great deal of tourist satisfaction which was positively attributed to CRM initiatives and service quality thereof and suggested destination loyalty.