Judgment Night a tourism magnet

Religious tourism has been the subject of heated debate at various forums, especially after the launch of the National Tourism Policy by Government in 2014.

The debate has been centred on how Zimbabwe can benefit from this concept and what can be done to attract tourists to the country for religious purposes.Many have often wondered if there is anything of value both in Christianity and traditional religion in the country to attract tourists.

Now, this debate is set to end, thanks to a concept called Judgment Night that was started by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa of the United Family International Church (UFIC) four years ago.

Judgment Night has clearly demonstrated over the past few years that it is possible to attract foreigners to Zimbabwe for the purpose of worship.

So, when more than 40 000 foreigners join locals for UFIC's Judgment Night 4 at Mt Hampden tomorrow evening, this will not only signify a new wave of Christian revival sweeping across the country. Their presence at this event will also demonstrate that it is indeed possible to attract huge numbers of foreigners to religious events.

One of the aspects that stands out in the National Tourism Policy is religious tourism.

But pundits could very easily have ruled out any impact of religious tourism, especially in Christianity, considering that Zimbabwe has not been known to produce internationally acclaimed preachers.

But all this is set to change – thanks to the rise of powerful preachers like Prophet Makandiwa, whose influence now goes far beyond the country's borders.

With Judgment Night 4, many Zimbabweans are now starting to realise that the Church can play a crucial role in other sectors of the economy.

Government considers tourism one of the important pillars of Zimbabwe's economic recovery, as it has the potential to contribute much to the fiscus.

And it is equally important that churches like UFIC are playing an important role in aiding this industry, which can be the number one contributor to the economy if well nurtured.

The National Tourism Policy notes that religious tourism is one of the pillars of the tourism industry and should be among the top earners in the near future.

And this is quite possible judging by how just a single church is attracting so many foreigners for one all-night service.

UFIC's Judgment Night clearly shows that the vision of religious tourism can be achieved.

But this could not have been possible if the church was not organised in its approach, because no one would want to be associated with disorder.

The lesson is that churches must be equal to the task and earn the trust of believers if they are to play a meaningful role in attracting foreigners to their services.

Judgment Night 4 has awakened Government to realise that if pursued with vigour, religious tourism can bring rewards to the country.

This explains why Government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, has endorsed Judgment Night 4.

And it seems that almost everyone is excited about Judgment Night 4, which has aroused interest from Christians and non-Christians alike and has created a buzz in Zimbabwe.

Apart from its spiritual importance, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi was clear on what Judgment Night 4 also means to the country.

Generally sold as "arise and shine", verse 11 of Isaiah 60 speaks of keeping gates open: "Thy gates also shall be open continually, day and night, they shall not be shut; That men may bring unto thee the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession," he said, while endorsing the event.

"What it means in our modern-day parlance in tourism is to open skies, open borders. The Gentiles referred to by Prophet Isaiah are actually our modern-day tourists whom we have re-defined in our National Tourism Policy as religious tourism.

"We are doing this endorsement of Judgment Night 4 within the context of that philosophical foundation that underpins this ministry's mission and mandate. I am happy to do this seeing that the last three editions of the event have grown in leaps and bounds."

And to show that Judgment Night is growing bigger each year, UFIC spokesperson Pastor Prime Kufa said at the endorsement event that the church was moving the big night to the more spacious venue in Mt Hampden.

"The move has been necessitated by the fact that the stadium (the 60 000- seater National Sports Stadium where the previous three editions were held) has become restrictive in terms of attendance," he said.

"We moved to a much bigger venue and we expect God to move like never before this year."

There is no doubt that UFIC has managed to capture the imagination of the world and the high number of foreigners at its services and events is testimony to that.

Judgment Night 4, for instance, is already proving to be a challenge to the tourism and hospitality industry.

The tourism stakeholders must up their game to ensure that they have adequate facilities to accommodate such high numbers of foreign visitors.

But in the case of Judgment Night 4, the tourism aspect is not confined to foreigners.

Harare will be the major beneficiary as more locals will travel from different parts of the country to the capital for the event.

All these multitudes will require services ranging from accommodation, transport to food.

This means all those in some form of business will be busy from today as believers start arriving in the capital for the mega event.

Religious tourism has been around for a long time, but in Zimbabwe the phenomenon has not been widely explored.

While churches in the country have been attracting foreigners, it seems no one was adventurous enough to associate their brands with religious tourism.

The World Religious Travel Association estimates that almost 300 million people throughout the world visit other countries for religious purposes every year.

The first International Conference on Religious Tourism was held in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2006 and organised by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation in cooperation with the Church of Cyprus and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The aim was to come up with strategies on how to promote religious tourism and map out how countries can benefit more from the age-old tradition.

Subsequently, the World Religious Travel Association held other conferences to further explore religious tourism and its benefits.

The UNWTO also takes religious tourism so seriously that it has come up with objectives and specific guidelines for the promotion of the concept.

And according to the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, "religious tourism is the result of a faith that leads a sector of the population to move from one place to another in order to enter a place that is considered sacred".

The journal says the place's "main peculiar characteristic is that it allows visitors to have a closeness with the divine that cannot be achieved anywhere else or appreciated as profanely".

It is clear from the above definition that the one aspect that draws people to Judgment Night is the unique experience.

There is only one Judgment Night in the world and only one Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa, so one is compelled to attend to have the full experience.