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75% Singapore residents want to preserve hawker culture because it's affordable: Survey
More than half of the respondents also believed that "dining at hawker centres is part of our national identity".
SINGAPORE — When it comes to preserving the hawker culture in Singapore, 75 per cent of Singapore residents said in a survey that enjoying good food at affordable prices was the top reason to do so.
The survey, conducted by Singapore-based research organisation RySense between 17 to 24 April 2023, with 1,048 Singapore residents, found that nine in 10 respondents (93 per cent) feel it is important or very important to preserve the hawker culture.
When asked why they believed it was important to preserve hawker culture, 64 per cent of those surveyed cited the convenience of hawker centres as a meal source. This is followed by "dining at hawker centres is part of our national identity" as the third reason for preserving hawker culture, with 55 per cent of respondents agreeing.
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The RySense survey also found that more than half of respondents (52 per cent) were willing to pay more for hawker food to support Singapore's hawker culture and to make the hawker trade more attractive. Some 63 per cent of the respondents were at least somewhat willing to pay more for hawker food to help hawkers cope with the rising costs of raw ingredients.
"In the face of overall rising costs, the level of support that Singaporeans display for our local hawker culture is most encouraging. Hopefully with the support from the public as well as initiatives such as the Hawkers Development Programme, Singapore's hawker culture can continue to thrive and evolve as our national pride," said RySense in a report of its findings.
With seven in 10, or 73 per cent, of the respondents saying that they visit the hawker centre at least once a week, it's no wonder that Singaporeans feel so strongly about the hawker culture here.
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