Attractiveness of Singapore hawker centres to western tourists.

Abstract

This study investigated the attractiveness of Singapore hawker centres by examining several dining factors – price, uniqueness of cuisine, cultural aspect of the dining place, physical environment, hygiene and service. Person-administered survey was used to collect primary data and random sampling was employed. A total of 174 tourists completed a questionnaire measuring their satisfaction while dining at the hawker centres. Comparisons of response differences with respect to gender, age groups, occupations as well as countries of residence were also conducted. The study provided evidence that the cultural aspect of the dining place was deemed as the most important factor among the six factors listed above. However, while the findings showed that some form of deeper understanding of Singapore heritage was gained through dining at hawker centres, it also revealed that Western tourists expressed a neutral view towards the exoticism and uniqueness of the food. Overall, the cultural significance of hawker centres was found to have a less than desired impact on them. With respect to price, tourists found the food sold at the hawker centres inexpensive and value-for-money, albeit not the main motivation for tourists to dine at a hawker centre. The centralised concept of hawking, as adopted in the local hawker centres, was deemed as relatively unique by Western tourists. Hygiene was also identified as one of the major concerns when dining at a hawker centre. Lastly, the findings revealed that tourists were generally satisfied with the service at the hawker centres. The results also showed that recommendation from friends and family was the most common source of information regarding local hawker centres.