A simple, customer-driven definition of quality that is popular today is: Quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations.

Quality must provide goods and services that completely satisfy the needs of both internal and external customers. Quality serves as the "bridge" between the producer of goods or services and its customer. To meet or exceed customer expectations, organizations must fully understand all service attributes that contribute to customer value and lead to satisfaction and loyalty. Definitions of quality have included: a) satisfying or delighting the customer or exceeding expectations; b) product of service features that satisfy stated or implied needs) conformance to clearly specified requirements; and d) fitness for use, whereby the product meets the customers needs and is free of deficiencies. Service quality is the outcome of an evaluation process where the consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceived he has received. Service quality identifies five dimensions of service quality. They are Tangibles (appearance of physical facilities, personnel and materials), Reliability (dependable and accurate performance), Responsiveness (willingness to help customers and the promptness of service), Assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees) and Empathy (caring and individualized attention to customers). Quality must provide goods and services that completely satisfy the needs of both internal and external customers. Quality serves as the "bridge" between the producer of goods or services and its customer. INTRODUCTION Role of Tourism Industry and hospitality in India GDP has been quite alarming since the past few decades. The hospitality industry is second only to the global oil industry in terms of turnover, and is, by far, the largest employer around the world. Ten percent of the world's work force is in the tourism and hospitality industry, and 10 percent of the world's GNP comes from tourism. Tourism industry has contributed enormously in the flourishing graph of India's economy by attracting a huge number of both foreign and domestic tourists traveling for professional as well as holiday purpose. As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 12th in the Asia Pacific region and 68th overall, on the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked

5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019.0Indian tourism industry contributes to about 5.9 % of the countries GDP and provides employment to 41.8 million people. In 2011, Indias total visitor exports stood at Rs 950 billion, which was 12 per cent of all service exports and 3.9 per cent of all exports. he Indian Hospitality industry contributes around 2.2 per cent of Indias GDP. The industry is expected to reach INR 230 billion (US$ 5.2 billion) by 2015, growing at a robust CAGR of 12.2 per cent. India will be investing around INR 448 billion (US$ 10.1 billion) in the hospitality industry in the next five years. The Tourism and the Hospitality sector generated a total of US$ 2,468.39 billion (INR 1, 094,48.4 billion) in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during April 2000-April 2011, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 % between 2010 and 2019. This will place India at the third position in the world. India's travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the world. Capital investment in India's travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 % between 2010 and 2019. The report forecasts India to get more capital investment in the travel and tourism sector and is projected to become the fifth fastest growing business travel destination from 2010 through 2020. QUALITY OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM SECTOR CHALLENGE Delivering quality service is one of the biggest challenge that is being and in coming future will be faced by the two sectors and it is an essential condition for the success in the emerging and competitive market

THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE QUALITY IN TORISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTORFor the service marketers such as those of hospitality, tourism, and leisure service quality impact satisfaction directly so is the crucial variable marketers need to control strategically if they are to be successful in the long term. Thus this is fact that customer satisfaction is the key to operational variable and if service quality is improved, customer satisfaction and hopefully profitability will be improved

Tourism industry is considered as one of the most important, most diverse and richest global industries in the twenty-first century and by the end of the next decade it would lay at the top of the table of the world's high income industries. Foreign exchange earnings in this industry has a high added value for national economy of any country, that is why many countries consider this growing industry as the main source of income, an opportunity for employment, private sector growth and economic infrastructure strengthening. Especially developing countries and communities in which other forms of economic development such as extraction of natural resources or production of artifacts are not economically efficient and do not have Quality assurance refers to any planned and systematic activity directed towards providing consumers with goods and services of appropriate quality, along with the confidence that they meet consumers requirements. Quality assurance depends on excellence of two important focal points in business: the design of goods and services and the control of quality during execution of service delivery which is often aided by some form of measurement and inspection activity

WHAT IS SERVICE QUALITY IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM The quality of service in hotel industry is an important factor of successful business. The existing trend of complete quality management in hotel industry ensures the achievement of competitive advantage of hotel companies and is therefore the subject of contemporary research into service quality in hotel industry. Quality in the tourism and hospitality industry involves consistent delivery of products and guest services according to expected standards. Delivering quality service is one of the major challenges the hospitality managers will be facing in the following years as it is an essential condition for success in the emerging, keenly competitive, global hospitality markets. There are various tools that measure and improve quality service, as well as mechanisms for quality recognition in the tourism and hospitality industry. The managers should identify record and weigh up the impacts of cost-profit and be in a position to priorities towards a

quality improvement process for their own property. The present study shows that tourism stakeholders perceive quality service in a hotel as value for money, a comfortable room, friendly staff and tasty food Quality Management is closely linked to the concept of continuous improvement, it does not take the form of capital -in the sense of an asset, but involves work to make something evolve, it is implemented within a reference framework, it uses tools and methods and involves repetition and evaluation .The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines service quality as all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities and implement them by means such as quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement within the quality system

In the area of hospitality, total quality management (TQM) is a participatory process that empowers all levels of employees to work in groups in order to establish guest service expectations and determine the best way to meet or exceed these expectations. A successful property will employ leader-managers who create a stimulating work environment in which