Enabling Quality in the Tourism Industry: An Evaluation of Business Excellence in Greek Hotels

Economic crisis, technological innovation, and shifting social and cultural norms have changed the level of competition in the tourism industry. In Greece, tourism has a direct impact on the national economy, and hotels are its most prominent industry. The five enablers of quality contained in the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model offer a framework for studying business excellence in the Greek hotel industry. Based on those enablers, a survey of 34 five‐star properties reveals that although most of the hotels are working toward business excellence, a number of areas still call for improvement, including benchmarking, the evaluation of historical data, and various aspects of human resources management. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.