RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN WEST AFRICA: A TB JOSHUA AFFAIR?

Whether you are a Muslim going to Mecca, Christians making your way to Jerusalem, or a Hindu travelling to Varanasi, tens of thousands of people globally migrate to countless holy places, resulting in huge economic benefits to a specific regions.

Over the last decade, Africa in particular has seen a massive growth in religious tourism, particularly with the emergence of charismatic leaders to whom the masses flock to for spiritual enlightenment. Inevitably, a pilgrimage will intertwine with conventional tourism servicing local markets and hospitality industries by providing a massive influx of financial upliftment.

This has become especially prevalent during economic instability, where believers will still want to fulfil their lifelong ambition of going on a pilgrimage to a faraway place – it has, in fact, become a big religious business (pun intended) with worldwide faith-based tourism generating a value in excess of US$