کیفیت خدمات فروشندگان مواد غذایی و نوشیدنی فرودگاه ها. یک رویکرد فازی  Service quality of airports’ food and beverage retailers. A fuzzy approach

1. Introduction Forsyth (2006, p. 73) contends that the links between aviation and tourism are becoming recognized more explicitly and that these exert a considerable influence on the role of governments’ aviation policies. This is particularly relevant to some islands within the European Union (EU), where bilateral agreements outside the EU unequivocally affect the nationalities of tourists that can be targeted in promotional activities by destination marketing organizations. Most of the islands in the EU do not have country sovereignty rights to negotiate aviation bilateral agreements freely and thus tourism development can be highly constrained. In islands, for obvious reasons, tourism development depends to a great extent on airport infrastructures and tourism policy makers and airport managers are very conscious that to be competitive in tourism, aeronautical fares need to be low. The airline industry has exerted some pressure on airports to control the level of aeronautical charges, so airports have been obliged to find new ways of obtaining revenues through the development of new and more sophisticated commercial activities, with shopping and restaurant services being among the most important ones also in terms of their ability to affect airport operations (Rhoades et al., 2000). Graham (2009) argues that there are some similarities and differences between high street and airport retailing that need to be analysed. Customers at airports tend to be more price-inelastic than high street customers because they are usually a captive market and belong to a high socio-economic group. The stress and shock customers experience at airports are not comparable. Another important difference is based on the primary function of airports as a modal interchange within the transport system that should not be compromised by the development of commercial activities. It is well known that many global brands with a good reputation operate in many of the airports around the world, e.g. Starbucks and McDonald’s. However, airports have recently started to introduce a new revolutionary strategy, opening up to new localbrands that are changing the uniformity observed in the past. Assies (2014) analyses these strategies in some European airports and finds that they are increasingly giving more relevance to local brands as a way of fulfilling the needs of consumers by providing an experience that reflects a sense of community and place. Over the past few decades, globalization has played a major role in modifying habits of eating out (Warde and Martens, 2000). Eating out is an activity that has more than economic implications as it is influenced by consumers’ social and cultural backgrounds and has become an important habit in the modern way of life. This trend is also relevant to companies managing food and beverage (F&B) services in airport areas, where eating and drinking has to be considered an important part of tourists’ experience and thus can enhance or damage the tourist destination image. Every year, more than 900 million people, including businessmen, commuters, tradesmen, occasional travellers and tourists, use airports around the world. In 2010, non-aeronautical revenues worldwide made up 46.5% of industry revenue. Specifically, they accounted for USD 35 billion, with F&B having a market value of USD 10 billion (The Foodie Report, 2011), thus generating higher profit margins than aeronautical activities (ACI, 2012). It is estimated that the number of airport passengers may reach 7.3 billion by the year 2017, thus determining a significant increase in the F&B sector, which may be worth up to USD 18 billion in seven years’ time (The Foodie Report, 2011). According to ACI (FAB, 2011), this market may even double in size by 2027, reaching up to 11 billion passengers with an annual revenue of USD 35 billion.