Abstract
M.A.
Integrated marketing communications has developed . in response to the fragmentation of old rules and realities within global marketing. Client sovereignty rules the marketplace of the nineties and coupled with this, we are entering into an information era where technology is the buzz word. The need for dialogue between organisations and their customers, in order to realise customer needs, resulted in the development of relationship marketing. Through this, organisations created added-value for their products and services to establish product differentiation within a product parity environment. One of the best means whereby an organisation can create product differentiation and positioning, is by establishing perceived service quality. South Africa wants to ensure a more stable economy. For this reason the successful functioning of the tourism industry in South Africa is of the utmost importance in order to stimulate the influx of foreign exchange and to create more job opportunities. The best way to create this is to institute a more sensitive service orientation and therefore this study examines the client services of the South-African tourism industry, with specific reference to the Kruger National Park. Due to the technology explosion and the information era that currently being experienced, terms such as niche marketing and mass-customisation are of paramount importance. Customers personal needs are being recorded and their products and services designed accordingly. This progression produced a strong competitive edge for organisations because of the higher perceived service quality. An organisation's quality image is the function of its ability to consistently meet or conform with their customer's expectations. Consistent quality could lead to customer loyalty that is essential for a service suppliers long-term profitability and survival. For the purposes of this study the SERVQUAL-instrument was used, to measure service quality. Although there are various other instruments to measure service quality, the author noticed that the complexity of the term service quality is causing a lot of problems and many a researcher is still struggling to conceptualise and operationalise it. In the search for the best suited measuringinstrument, the researcher realised the importance of defining service quality in the most understanding and measurable ways possible. Considering this knowledge the author is of the opinion that the SERVQUAL-instrument would describe service quality the best within this context. Within the context of this study the SERVQUAL was used to determine the service quality of the Kruger National Park as perceived by their foreign visitors. The results of the research suggested that die service quality of the Kruger National Park did not meet their customer's expectations.