Zaragoza Turismo

Quality certificate

ZARAGOZA, THE FIRST SPANISH CITY TO RECEIVE THE Q FOR QUALITY. THE TOURIST OFFICE AND THE ZARAGOZA CONVENTION BUREAU AWARDED THE Q FOR QUALITY CERTIFICATE.

As part of the strategy of the Department of Trade and Tourism for improving the quality of the Spanish Tourist Sector, Zaragoza was chosen in 2000 as a pilot city, together with eight other tourist destinations, to implement and develop the Design of a Tourist Destination Quality Management Model project , included in the PICTE (Spanish Tourism Quality Integrated Plan). The aim was to implement a quality system for municipal tourist services: Conference Palaces, Convention Bureaux and Information Bureaux, to be endorsed via the Q for Quality Certificate, which would guarantee quality standards in the services provided.
The Project
The financing of the project, the hiring of technical assistance and co-ordination with each destination, as well as setting it up, was the responsibility of the General Secretariat of Tourism and the FEMP (Spanish Cities and Provinces Federation). This was an integrated plan based on Quality as a fundamental principle and institutional co-operation as a basic instrument.
The Objective
The objective of the Zaragoza Convention Bureau and the Information Bureau was to obtain the Q for Quality Certificate . To achieve this, various actions were carried out from the moment Zaragoza was chosen as a pilot city, with assistance from the firm of consultants, Consultur.
Actions
carried out

• Participation in the drafting of the Quality Standards for Spanish Convention Bureaux and Tourist Offices of the Spanish Institute for Tourist Quality (I.C.T.E.).
  
• Participation in meetings and final approval of the draft Quality Standards.
  
• Self-assessment based on the established Quality Standards.
  
  
• Improvement Plan in terms of the results of the self-assessment.
  
  
• Training Plan for Zaragoza Convention Bureau and Information Bureau staff, as well as for those involved in the project: Firms in this Sector.
  
• Composing the draft Quality Manual and Procedure Manual.
  
• Final draft of the Quality Manual and Procedure Manual.
  
• Implementation of the System.
  
• Setting up the following tools:
  * A survey system for clients and member providers
  * A system of complaints and suggestions
  * Incident sheets
  * Self-assessments
  * A system of indicators
  * Improvement planning

Obtained the Q
Both the Zaragoza Tourist Bureau and the Zaragoza Convention Bureau passed the audit held on 12th November 2002, and following the meeting of the ICTE Quality Committee on 19th December, the Zaragoza Convention Bureau and the Tourist Bureau obtained the Q for Quality Certificate. The Q
for Quality
The award of the Q for Tourist Quality Certificate to the city of Zaragoza, a front-runner in the application of the concept of quality in the tourism market, will certainly mean that we shall have an improved standing in the market, which will enable us to obtain greater and improved benefits for the city.


Follow-up audit

Following the award of the Q for Quality Certificate in December 2002, the Zaragoza Tourist Office has proceeded with the implementation of the system, and carried out a yearly follow-up after the certification audit, as required by the Certificate Regulation.

The latest follow-up audit, which was carried out on the 20th and 21st of November 2007, verified that the system and quality standards conformed with the stipulated requirements.


Refer to the Zaragoza Tourism Quality Policy

More Information:www.icte.es
( ICTE - Instituto para la Calidad Turística Española)Quality Policy