AN INTRESTING ARTICLE FROM TODAYS HERALD WRITTEN BY PASTOR KUFA Take different approach to religious Tourism is surely big business if tapped into and marketed well. And a fast emerging form of tourism in the country is religious tourism.Religious tourism has one advantage over monumental tourism, archaeological tourism orheritage tourism in that there is nothing like,“I have been there and seen it all” when it comes to religious tourism.The first visit will most likely trigger the need for more visits. I hear that North American tourists contribute US$ 10 Billion to Mecca annually and an estimated 4 million tourists visit Jerusalem annually and that is surely contributing immensely to the Israeli economy.Of late, we have had so many foreigners coming in for religious events hosted by a number of churches.For example, the United Family International Church’s Judgment Night in 2012 had 6 823 registered international visitors and over 10 000 diasporans who attended the event.And what does that mean for business? An extra 17 000 consumers for their products! Thisis where business should come in;The churches do not derive any financial benefit from internationalvisitors save for the ‘small change’ they put into the offering baskets (that is, if they bother to).It is the hoteliers, transporters, caterers and other service providers who stand to gain more.Imagine if our national airline markets such an event in their in-flight magazine and in conjunction with one of the tour operators, offers a special packagefor Victoria Falls or another destination in the pre or post eventperiod.Or if our cellular service providers can market such an event and take advantage of it to sell 15 000 lines, lines that are surely going to be making international calls and doing much browsing of the internet!Or, if our hoteliers take advantage of such an event to advertise their services and be assured of having a fully booked hotel over the weekend of the event.So far, it is only the commuter omnibus drivers that I have seen partnering with religious organisations in that regard by pasting posters of upcoming religious events on their vehicles and thereby publicising the event. What they know is: if the event is well-marketed, it means more business for them.Recently, a visiting professor from the US gave me some shocking statistics after watching the miracles of lowering people’s blood pressure performed by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa.He told me that there are geothermal springs in Budapest whose waters are believed to have healing powers over such ailmentsas anaemia, joint pains, back pains, asthma, barrenness etc. andabout 3,2m foreigners visit these springs annually in what is termed medicinal or health tourism.If the average tourist spends just over US$310, that is a billion dollars added to their economy!Obviously, their local companies have helped to market the springs as a tourist destination in order to derive some benefit themselves.This is where our tourism-inclined companies should come in; imagine if we are able portray, in good light, the healings from hypertension, HIV, Cancer, the instant weight losses etc that are taking place in our country, who would not want to come for healing?People out there, no matter their social standing, have spiritual needs they want met, health needsthey want met and when they find such a place, sanctions or no sanctions, they will come!When a tourism minister announces that a religious figure (Prophet Makandiwa) is a tourist attraction, one would expect some form of action from companies to follow and tourism-inclined companies to look for partnerships of some sort like moves to publicise the church’s events internationally so that as religious tourists come in, the benefits accrue to the companies, one way or the other.I believe that in business, one starts from what they have and what we have now is a source of religious tourism.This is one that cannot be affected by sanctions, does not have competition in the region (say, for example, as Hwange National Parkhas Serengeti for competition) andbusiness should take advantage of the presence of men of God that have international acclaim like Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa, Apostle Ezekiel Guti, Bishop Tudor Bismarck, to name a few.It is amazing how businesses want to associate with a one-time event such as ‘Miss This’ or ‘Miss That’ and yet ignore something that is happening day in and day out like church services attended by foreign nationals.UFIC (I shall use them as I have ready access to their statistics) hasno less than 600 foreigners at every service and the numbers aregrowing.Where do they find lodging, where do they eat, who is ferrying them?Are they spending as much as we would like them to spend in our country?UFIC are not the only church receiving foreign nationals at their services, meaning the numbers are more than that.Now, 600 tourists a week translates to over 30000 international visitors annually (justunder a third of what I hear Vic Falls is getting annually) and if companies can be close to offer their services, then that would be quite a contribution to the economy.Given where we stand now, business-wise, any extra cent coming into a company’s coffers is most welcome. Just food for thought!Prime Kufakunesu is a senior Pastor and spokesperson for UFI
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 08:58:22 +0000
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