Implementing the quality management principle of "leadership" in tourism organizations

In modern conditions, the tourism sector development involves approaches aimed at better satisfying the consumers’ requirements, who want to be con- fident in the quality and safety of tourist product. One of the approaches to increase customer satisfaction is the introduction and operation of quality management systems (QMS) in organizations based on seven principles. The QMS refers to the part of the organization's management system aimed at quality. The article deals with issues of the essence of the quality management princi- ple of "Leadership" and ways of its application in tourist organizations. This principle is the most important, since leadership is an integral part of the qual- ity management system and its trigger mechanism, this is why the system functions and develops. The article is focused on studying and analyzing the provisions of ISO international standards for quality management systems with the subsequent adaptation to the activities of tourist organizations, such as tour operators, travel agents, and organizations rendering services guides, guides and interpreters and instructors. Based on the research results, the author examines and analyzes the ways to apply the quality management principle of "Leadership" in tourist organiza- tions. On the background of the provisions of ISO 9000 standard the author reveals the main actions that must be performed by the management of the organization and advantages that the organization can obtain due to it. The article considers the requirements of ISO 9001 standard regarding top man- agement commitment. The author also examines a methodology including a list of questions on the quality management principles. It allows to determine the level of maturity of the QMS and to develop measures to improve the ac- tivities. Based on the provisions of ISO 9004 standard, the article proposes the processes for the adopting and maintaining an organization’s effective strat- egy and policies.