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From Third World to First World: Tourism, Food Safety and the Making of Modern Singapore

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Food Tourism in Asia

Part of the book series: Perspectives on Asian Tourism ((PAT))

Abstract

This chapter looks at food safety in tourism, rather than food tourism. Often taken for granted in food tourism research, food safety is an issue that matters in tourism practices, to both visitors and residents. How food safety and tourism evolved in Singapore encapsulate the story of the meteoric development of Singapore from a Third World to a First World nation. This chapter looks at the history of food safety in Singapore, and how the Singapore Tourism Board responded to maintaining Singapore as an exotic city that has become too clean, safe and hygienic for many western tourists. This chapter also situates tourism as part of the modern development of Singapore. As a cultural resource to weave a narrative for nation building, reconstructed food stories reclaim the Asian and colonial history of the city that is now manifestly modern, cosmopolitan and safe.

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Ooi, CS., Tarulevicz, N. (2019). From Third World to First World: Tourism, Food Safety and the Making of Modern Singapore. In: Park, E., Kim, S., Yeoman, I. (eds) Food Tourism in Asia. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3624-9_6

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