International Journal of Tourism Research, Int. J. Tourism Res.

, 16: 407–414 (2014)

Published online 25 March 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jtr.1936

Perspectives on the Regional Economic Value of a Pilgrimage

ANDREA SAAYMAN1, MELVILLE SAAYMAN2* and AGYAPONG GYEKYE3
1
School of Economics, NWU, Potchefstroom, North West Province, South Africa
2
TREES, NWU, Potchefstroom, North West Province, South Africa
3
Faculty of Economics, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACT

Pilgrimages around the world attract large numbers of followers, often classified as religious tourists. More than a million people attend the
annual Easter weekend meeting of The Zion Christian Church in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is one of the largest pilgrimages
in the world and could be expected to have a significant impact on the regional economy. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the
spending behaviour of pilgrims at the gathering and the impact that the event has on the economy of Limpopo – one of the poorest provinces
in South Africa. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Received 04 July 2012; Revised 07 December 2012; Accepted 05 January 2013

key words ZCC; religion; religious tourism; SAM; pilgrims; South Africa

INTRODUCTION to Mecca as ‘Meccanomics’. They point out that religious

Religious tourism has been one of the oldest types of tourism
since it evolved with humankind (Laderlah et al., 2011).
Shani et al. (2007) observed that tourism has always been
influenced by global religions such as Christianity, Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism among others. Religious
tourism is driven by motives such as curiosity, to learn new
cultures or to participate in specific spiritual rituals and
beliefs. People travel to see religious attractions, including
cathedrals, statues, temples or mosques, or to attend festivals
and religious events. As a result, many cities, regions and
destinations, such as Fatima in Portugal, Jerusalem in Israel,
Czestochowaz in Poland, Lourdes in France and Montserrat
in Spain, have become dependent on religious tourism. One
example of a major religious event can be found in Saudi
Arabia when Muslims gather to make the journey to Mecca.
Each Muslim is obliged to visit Mecca at least once in their
lifetime, and they therefore have to take part in the pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage, according to Gladstone (2005:170), is a quest, a
journey and the experience of a sacred place or a shrine.
Regardless of the reason or purpose of any type of tourism
activity, the fact that people travel to places and take part in
activities implies that some expenditure is inevitable. Typical
expenditures in these activities include, among others,
transport, accommodation, meals, tours and souvenirs, which
is also the case for religious tourism activities.
In the words of Tarlow (2010), it is clear that religious
tourism is a big business. He supports his statement by
emphasizing that in USA alone, some 24% of travellers are
interested in religious-based tourism. He further indicates
that worldwide, religious travel is one of the fastest
growing segments of the industry, with an estimated value
of US$1.8 billion (in 2010) and 300 million travellers. No
wonder The Economist headlines a paper on religious travel
*Correspondence to: Melville Saayman, TREES, NWU, Potchefstroom,
North West Province, South Africa.
E-mail: melville.saayman@nwu.ac.za
tourism is the second-largest industry in Saudi Arabia, only
beaten by the oil industry, with a revenue of approximately
US$8 billion. In addition, it is growing faster than any other
industry in the country (The Economist, 2002). This growth
is fuelled by approximately two million foreigners plus an
additional 700 000 domestic pilgrims who travel for the ‘Hajj’1
(Sfakianakis & Fransi, 2010). These figures exclude travellers
who travel for the ‘Umrah’2 or lesser pilgrimages that are set to
grow significantly.
When one looks at religious tourism in other parts of the
world, the picture is the same. In India, 70% of domestic
tourists travel for religious purposes (Patel & Fellow, 2010).
In fact, it is the largest economic sector in the country
generating 20% of the revenue (in 2010). One example of
religious tourism in India is ‘Tirupati’, where the Lord
Ventekshwara Temple attracts between 18 and 20 million
foreign and domestic visitors per annum, indicating the size
and scope of this type of tourism. Montserrat in Spain attracts
approximately two million visitors annually, and the Shrine of
Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal attracts approximately four
million people every year.
What is evident from the above is that the number of
people involved and the amounts spent through religious
tourism make it a noteworthy tourism and economic activity.
It is therefore surprising that Vukonic (2002) indicates that
religious tourism is one of the least studied fields in tourism.
Vukonic (1998) encourages ‘fresh views’ on the topic to
obtain a better understanding of the theme and topic under
investigation. A review of the literature shows that research
carried out on religious tourism in Africa is sparse. Even
though several studies have been conducted, most of the
1
The ‘Hajj’ refers to the pilgrimage that a Muslim must make to Mecca once
in his lifetime. This pilgrimage is part of his religious life and is the major
pilgrimage as part of the Muslim religion during the days of Hajj.
2
The ‘Umrah’ refers to a pilgrimage to Mecca, although it is not the major
pilgrimage during the Hajj. It can be made anytime and is not compulsory.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

408 M. Saayman, A. Saayman and A. Gyekye
research on African religions have dealt with aspects such as
the role of religion and politics (Radebe, 2008; Ranger, 1986),
growth of Independent Christian Churches (Anderson, 1999;
Bompani, 2010) and religion as social change (Garner, 2000)
to name a few. As such, the current research addresses mainly
the sociological aspects of religion rather than tourism-specific
aspects, and in fact, not one study was found dealing with the
economics of religious tourism in Africa.
This paper aims to fill this void and investigates the
economic impact of one of the largest pilgrimages in Africa,
namely the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in South Africa, to
investigate the value of this pilgrimage for the regional
economy. The following section provides an overview of the
ZCC and the economy of the region in which the pilgrimage
takes place.
THE ZION CHRISTIAN CHURCH PILGRIMAGE IN
LIMPOPO PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA
About the Zion Christian Church
The ZCC, founded by Engenas Lekganyane in 1910, is the
largest African indigenous church in southern Africa. With
an estimated membership of about 20 million, the two
congregations that constitute the church are led by Barnabas
Lekganyane (of the ZCC Star) and Saint Engenas Lekganyane
(of the Saint Engenas ZCC), both grandsons of its founder. The
emblems of the two congregations are normally worn on their
clothes, with an emblem of a star for the original ZCC and a
dove for the Saint Engenas ZCC.
As an indigenous African church, the ZCC combines
Christianity with some elements of traditional African beliefs.
Thus, although Zionist beliefs emphasize the healing power of
conventional Christian religion, they respect traditional
African religious beliefs, especially those regarding the power
of ancestors to intercede on behalf of humans (Anderson,
2000:127; Elphick & Davenport, 1997:224). This may in fact
account for the ZCCs large, predominantly black membership.
Several structures have been created within ZCC to provide
prayer and communion forums for members including the
‘Mokhukhu’ (meaning sound of feet stomping on the ground
in the Sepedi language), the Female Choir, the Male Choir,
the Brass Band and ‘Nkedi’. Mokhukhu is generally regarded
as the most important of all formations. ZCC practices forbid
the consumption of alcohol, smoking and eating pork, and
denounce sexual promiscuity and violence. As a result, ZCC
members have become known in the business community for
their honesty and dependability as employees.
The highlights of the ZCC religious calendar are the annual
gathering of members during Easter (and a second gathering in
the first week of September) for religious celebrations. Over
1.5 million ZCC members from all the provinces of South
Africa as well as from neighbouring countries, undertake the
Easter pilgrimage to Moria City, located some 40 km east of
Polokwane City in Limpopo Province of South Africa. The
pilgrims use various modes of transport, mainly taxis, buses,
high-speed passenger trains and private cars.
The pilgrims spend three days worshipping in the open, as
the buildings in Moria City are not adequately equipped to
Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
cope with the large numbers of people that descend on the
city. The church provides limited amenities such as tents,
portable toilets and food stalls. Merchandise provided by the
church and sold to pilgrims in the food stalls include blessed
tea and coffee, holy water and other products (Anderson,
2000:298). The annual gathering at Moria provides a major
marketing source and income-generating opportunities for
local vendors and entrepreneurs, who are able to sell anything
from food to arts and crafts, as well as accommodation.
In summary, the ZCC, by maintaining its large mem-
bership among a predominantly black population, and as a
consequence attracting millions of people to Moria, is bound
to have positive economic spin-offs. The economic impact that
the annual pilgrimage has on the region cannot be understated
and thus the need for this study.
According to Ritchie and Goeldner (1994), an economic
impact is defined as the net economic change in a host
country that results from spending by tourists (in the current
case, pilgrims) in a given area. However, a clear understanding
of the economy of the region is necessary to assess the
importance of the pilgrimage.
The economy of Limpopo Province
Limpopo is the northernmost of the nine provinces in
South Africa. It borders Mozambique in the east, Botswana
in the West and Zimbabwe in the north. In the south, the
province shares borders with Mpumalanga, Gauteng and
North-west provinces.
The population of the province is about 5.2 million,
representing approximately 12% of the total population of
South Africa. Women constitute about 54% of Limpopo’s
population compared with the national average of 52%
(Statistics South Africa, 2012). The province contributes
approximately 4% to South Africa’s gross domestic
product. Unemployment is currently estimated to be about
21.9%, which is lower than the national average of 25.2%
(narrow definition).
The three pillars of Limpopo’s economy are agriculture,
mining and tourism (Limpopo Provincial Government,
2009:13). The province is commonly described as the garden
of South Africa, primarily because of its rich fruit and
vegetable production. It produces 75% of the country’s
mangoes, 70% of its tomatoes, 65% of its papaya, 60% of
its avocadoes, 36% of its tea, 25% of its citrus, bananas
and litchis, and 19% of its potatoes. Over 45% of the more
than ZAR2 billion annual turnover of the Johannesburg fresh
produce market originates in Limpopo.
Limpopo Province is also endowed with abundant and
diverse mineral resources. The world’s largest reserves of
platinum group metals are found in the central part of the
province. Other minerals include diamonds, iron ore, copper
and phosphates. Mineral production contributes about 22%
to the province’s gross domestic product.
With natural beauty, a diversity of culture and abundant
wildlife, Limpopo has a thriving tourism industry. It is the
home of the Mapungubwe cultural and historical site, the
country’s eighth World Heritage Site. As the first kingdom in
southern Africa, Mapungubwe is said to have been the largest
kingdom in Africa lasting for over 400 years before it was
Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 407–414 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/jtr
 Economic Value of a Pilgrimage 409

abandoned in the 14th century. At the time, Mapungubwe’s Table 1. Average spending per pilgrim from different origins
highly sophisticated people traded with China, India and (in ZAR)
Egypt. Valuable archaeological artefacts have been dis- Item Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign
covered at the site including gold statuettes of rhinos and an
Accommodation 20.43 20.61 13.56
assortment of gold jewellery. In addition to the world famous Food 60.47 139.36 167.97
Kruger National Park, there are 54 provincial reserves and Beverages 17.39 44.60 64.07
transfrontier conservation areas in Limpopo. The province also Transport 64.06 230.96 423.36
has the largest hunting industry in South Africa with more than Religious items 38.80 72.68 92.54
3000 privately owned game farms. Other 2.21 1.36 3.39
Total 203.36 509.57 764.88
It is evident that the tourism sector plays an important
role in the economy of an otherwise primary product-based Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on survey.
region, and understanding the contribution of religious tourism SA, South Africa.
in this context could be insightful.
larger groups compared with pilgrims from the rest of South
Africa or those from outside the country.
METHOD Table 1 indicates that the average foreign pilgrim spends
more than their South African counterparts. A closer look
The data was obtained by presenting pilgrims with a at the table reveals that spending on transport is significantly
structured questionnaire. The subsequent sections describe higher, which is to be expected, as they have to travel much
the survey, data analysis and economic impact analysis. further. Foreign pilgrims also spend more on food, beverages
and religious items.
Questionnaire and survey It is estimated that 1.2 million pilgrims attended the ZCC
The survey was conducted through distributing the question- gathering at Moria in 2011. The proportion of respondents
naires to pilgrims at Moria from 23 to 25 April 2011. All from various origins was used to determine the number of
pilgrims who were willing to complete a questionnaire were pilgrims from each origin. The distribution of pilgrims was
included in the sample. A total of 850 questionnaires were determined as follows: 50.8% from Limpopo, 44.5% from
randomly distributed over the three days – 250 on day 1 and the rest of South Africa and 4.7% from foreign countries.
300 on days 2 and 3. Of these, 800 questionnaires were This distribution of pilgrims is only subject to a 3.5%
completed fully enough to be included in the data analysis. deviation based on the margin of error for the survey. It is
Since it is estimated that 1.2 million pilgrims attended the by using these ratios that the total expenditure of pilgrims
2011 ZCC gathering at Moria, the sample of 800 can be can be derived by multiplying the spending per pilgrim by
viewed as sufficient, since Israel (2009) indicates that a sample the number of pilgrims from each origin. The results of this
size of 398 is sufficient for a population of 1 million. In calculation are shown in Table 2.
addition, the margin of error (see Gilliland and Melfi 2010) Table 2 shows that although foreign pilgrims spend the
of 800 questionnaires on a population of 1.2 million is most per person, the total they spent is much lower than that
calculated at 3.5% (with 95% confidence). This is acceptable, of their South African counterparts. This is due to the low
since the margin of error is less than 5%. number of foreign pilgrims (fewer than 60 000) that attended
The questionnaire aimed to determine the magnitude of the pilgrimage. Spending by pilgrims from the rest of South
spending, which is the main source of economic impact. To Africa represented more than 50%.
achieve this, spending on various items such as accommoda- However, not all spending takes place in Limpopo
tion, food, transport and souvenirs was included in the Province. This is especially true for transport, and some
questionnaire. In addition, respondents were asked how adjustment has to be made to account for this. Gelan (2003)
many people they were paying for, in order to determine refers to the adjustment as the capture ratio, i.e. only spending
spending per pilgrim. The questionnaire also included a that takes place within the province should be ‘captured’. If
number of demographic questions, which enabled the one assumes that travellers fill their vehicles before leaving
classification of pilgrims according to their origin, i.e. from for Limpopo, and then again when leaving Limpopo before
foreign countries, Limpopo Province or from other parts of
South Africa. Such a segmentation strategy is proposed by Table 2. Total spending by pilgrims according to origin (in
Stynes and White (2006) and leads to a more accurate value ZAR million)
of spending (Saayman et al., 2006). Totals Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign Total

Data analysis Accommodation 12.456 11.012 0.759 24.227

Food 36.875 74.444 9.404 120.724
The spending per pilgrim was derived from the survey and is Beverages 10.608 23.825 3.587 38.020
indicated in Table 1. Spending per pilgrim is the spending Transport 39.065 123.373 23.704 186.142
indicated on the questionnaire divided by the number of Religious items 23.664 38.823 5.181 67.668
people that the respondent is paying for. The average Other 1.351 0.724 0.190 2.265
spending per pilgrim on the various categories is shown. Total (ZAR million) 124.019 272.201 42.826 439.046
Not shown in the table, but an interesting observation from Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on survey.
the data, is that pilgrims from Limpopo travel in relatively SA, South Africa.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 407–414 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/jtr
410 M. Saayman, A. Saayman and A. Gyekye
returning home, a 50% adjustment in transport costs for
pilgrims from the rest of South Africa and foreign countries
should be made. The application of this 0.5 capture ratio
influences the magnitude of spending on transport that accrues
to the province and therefore also the magnitude of total
spending. The ‘adjusted’ total spending is indicated in Table 3.
Economic impact estimation
According to Tyrrell and Johnston (2006:3), economic impact
analysis tracks monetary payments as they move through a
regional economy. The aim of the analysis is to estimate the
subsequent changes that an event has on total spending, output,
income and employment in the regional economy. Frechtling
(1994) confirms that economic impact studies in tourism
determine the effect of a specific tourist activity on the income,
employment and wealth of the residents in a specific geo-
graphical area. Whether spending by locals (pilgrims from
Limpopo) should be included in such an analysis is a
contentious issue, since it does not represent new money that
flows into the region and only causes a shift in expenditure
patterns of locals. Crompton (2006) indicates that local
spending can be included (i) when the event caused the
residents to stay at home rather than take a trip elsewhere,
known as the ‘deflected impact’, and (ii) when a study of the
significance of the event is made, i.e. the size and nature of
the influence that the event has on local economic activity.
This paper aims to determine the latter, and therefore, local
spending is included. It is, however, listed separately to
isolate the contribution of local spending, i.e. pilgrims from
Limpopo, if required.
Spending by the pilgrims creates an initial spending
stimulus, which is referred to as the direct impact of the
event. Businesses spend the money they receive to buy stock,
and these inter-business transactions are the indirect impact
of the event. The increase in income as a result of the
initial spending stimulus causes consumers to increase their
spending, which is referred to as the induced impact of the
event. The sum of these three impacts – direct, indirect and
induced – equals the total impact of the event.
To determine the indirect and induced impacts, various
methods can be employed. Until recently, the most prominent
methods used in economic impact studies in tourism were
input–output analysis and variants thereof, such as partial
input–output models and regional input–output models
(see Wagner, 1997; Vaughan et al., 2000). More recently,
computable general equilibrium models (CGE) have become
Table 3. Adjusted total spending by pilgrims according to origin
(in ZAR million)
Totals Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign
Accommodation 12.456 11.012 0.759
Food 36.875 74.444 9.404
Beverages 10.608 23.825 3.587
Transport 39.065 61.687 11.852
Religious items 23.664 38.823 5.181
Other 1.351 0.724 0.190
Total (ZAR million) 124.019 210.515 30.974
Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on survey.
SA, South Africa.
Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
popular in events research (Blake, 2005; Dwyer et al., 2005;
Dwyer et al., 2006).
Blake (2005) states that input–output type models tend to
overstate the impact of an event, especially if it only focuses
on production multipliers. CGE analysis is therefore often
preferred, but Abelson (2011) casts doubt over its applicability
for short-term events, which only cause a temporary increase in
spending. At the core of CGE analysis is a social accounting
matrix (SAM), which is an expanded input–output model that
includes household and other national income data. The SAM
allows the simulation of changes in gross value added or
income, which tend to be more realistic in estimating the
impact of an event (Blake, 2005).
To quantify the impact of the event, multipliers are
generated using the provincial SAM of Limpopo Province.
The SAM is used, since it is the only of the aforementioned
models that is currently available for Limpopo Province. In
addition, the event is short-term, and therefore, the increase
in spending is only temporary. This makes Abelson’s
(2011) critique valid, namely that the applicability of CGE
analysis for short-term events is doubtful. The Limpopo
SAM was compiled by Conningarth Economists and is
available from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.3
The Limpopo SAM distinguishes between 46 sectors, 12
household types and four ethnic groups.
The SAM assumes fixed prices in the short run, which
may lead to an overstatement of the value of the event,
especially on the production side, and the income derived
from the event should be more realistic. Therefore, the results
for both production and income are included.
RESULTS
The results of the analysis are discussed by assessing the
influence of the ZCC pilgrimage 2011 on the production and
income of households in the Limpopo Province. Production
can be seen as the total turnover that is generated by each sector
in the economy, and the increase in production caused by the
spending stimulus is summarized in Tables 4 and 5 according
to various pilgrim segments.
Table 4 presents a breakdown of the direct, indirect and
induced impacts on the production of pilgrim spending during
the event, according to origin. For ease of interpretation, the
results are summarized in sectors of the economy, using the
basic sector aggregation as classified by the South African
Reserve Bank and Statistics South Africa. It is evident that
the direct and indirect impacts of spending by pilgrims
from the rest of South Africa exceed those of pilgrims from
Total other origins and that, in comparison, the induced impact is
relatively low.
24.227 Table 5 shows the total impact of the ZCC pilgrimage
120.724
38.020
on the production in Limpopo Province, whereas Figure 1
112.604 illustrates the distribution of benefit across the different sectors.
67.668 It is evident that the impact of spending by pilgrims from the
2.265
365.508
3
The social accounting matrix can be downloaded from the
Development Bank of Southern Africa website: http://www.dbsa.org/
%28S%28ljt3xv55ifxdjc55r0urey55%29%29/SAM/Pages/default.aspx
Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 407–414 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/jtr
 Economic Value of a Pilgrimage 411

Table 4. Direct, indirect and induced impacts of spending on production using the Limpopo SAM (in ZAR million, 2006 prices)
Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign

Direct and Induced Direct and Induced Direct and Induced

Sector indirect impacts impact indirect impacts impact indirect impacts impact
Agriculture 0.475 0.104 0.620 0.136 0.074 0.016
Mining 0.941 0.298 1.402 0.442 0.206 0.065
Manufacturing 2.813 0.516 4.207 0.780 0.571 0.107
Electricity and water 1.957 0.510 2.960 0.771 0.433 0.113
Construction 1.459 0.232 2.499 0.397 0.386 0.061
Trade and accommodation 49.894 12.810 87.861 22.920 11.571 3.039
Transport and communication 44.003 9.946 72.917 16.488 12.637 2.855
Financial and business services 13.418 3.784 22.667 6.355 3.474 0.959
Community services 1.677 0.577 2.031 0.699 0.360 0.124
Total (ZAR million) 116.637 28.777 197.165 48.988 29.713 7.339

Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on multiplier analysis.
SA, South Africa; SAM, social accounting matrix.

Table 5. Total impact of the ZCC pilgrimage 2011 on production using the Limpopo SAM (in ZAR million, 2006 prices)
Sector Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign Total Total percentage (%)
Agriculture 0.579 0.756 0.090 1.426 0.3
Mining 1.240 1.845 0.271 3.355 0.8
Manufacturing 3.330 4.987 0.678 8.994 2.1
Electricity and water 2.467 3.731 0.546 6.744 1.6
Construction 1.691 2.897 0.448 5.035 1.2
Trade and accommodation 62.704 110.781 14.610 188.095 43.9
Transport and communication 53.949 89.405 15.492 158.846 37.1
Financial and business services 17.202 29.022 4.433 50.657 11.8
Community services 2.253 2.730 0.484 5.468 1.3
Total (ZAR million) 145.414 246.153 37.053 428.619 100.0
Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on multiplier analysis.
ZCC, Zion Christian Church; SA, South Africa; SAM, social accounting matrix.

Figure 1 clearly shows that the sectors that benefit the

Source of data: authors’ own calculations based on multiplier analysis
Figure 1. Sectoral distribution of the total impact of the Zion Christian
Church pilgrimage 2011. This figure is available in color online at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cb
rest of South Africa exceeds that of any other segment. This is a
result of the large number of pilgrims from the rest of South
Africa as well as their relatively high average spending, which
causes the initial spending stimulus of this group of pilgrims to
exceed that of any other group. The result of this for the econ-
omy of Limpopo is evident. Furthermore, it is clear that produc-
tion in the economy increases by more than ZAR400 million as
a result of the ZCC pilgrimage. The total production multiplier is
therefore 1.17 (change in production divided by the change in
spending, i.e. 428.619/365.508 = 1.17), which is quite low.
most in terms of production from the ZCC pilgrimage are
as follows: trade and accommodation (43.9%), transport
and communication (37.1%) and financial and business
services (11.8%). It is evident that the sectors that benefit
the most are those closely related to the tourism sector. In
addition, strong backward linkages cause financial and
other business services to benefit as well, whereas the
manufacturing sector also derives some benefit (2.1%).
Since the SAM assumes constant prices, the production
effect might overstate the value of an event for a regional
economy. The resulting household income that is derived
from the event is therefore also shown in Tables 6 and 7.
Table 6 shows that the income that households of Limpopo
receive as a result of the pilgrimage amounts to almost
ZAR180 million – an income multiplier of 0.49 (=179.352/
365.508). Again, the greatest contributor is the group of
pilgrims from the rest of South Africa. It is evident that workers
in tourism-related sectors, namely trade and accommodation,
transport and communication, and financial and business
services benefit most from the pilgrimage.
Table 7 indicates how the income benefit is distributed
between low-income and higher-income households. Income
categories P1 to P5 are considered to be low income, which
translates into income lower than ZAR24 000 per year (i.e. less
than US$3000 per year). Although these households seem to

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 407–414 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/jtr
412 M. Saayman, A. Saayman and A. Gyekye

Table 6. Total impact of the ZCC pilgrimage 2011 on income using the Limpopo SAM (in ZAR million, 2006 prices)
Sector Limpopo Rest of SA Foreign Total Total percentage (%)
Agriculture 0.201 0.264 0.032 0.497 0.3
Mining 0.590 0.877 0.129 1.595 0.9
Manufacturing 1.031 1.540 0.210 2.781 1.6
Electricity and water 1.135 1.716 0.251 3.102 1.7
Construction 0.514 0.881 0.136 1.532 0.9
Trade and accommodation 27.752 49.543 6.562 83.857 46.8
Transport and communication 20.422 33.851 5.863 60.136 33.5
Financial and business services 7.867 13.238 2.008 23.113 12.9
Community services 1.129 1.367 0.243 2.739 1.5
Total (ZAR million) 60.642 103.277 15.433 179.352 100.0
Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on multiplier analysis.
ZCC, Zion Christian Church; SA, South Africa; SAM, social accounting matrix.

Table 7. Total impact of the ZCC pilgrimage 2011 on household income (in ZAR million, 2006 prices)
Indirect and induced impacts Total
percentage
Sector Total impact Low-income households Other households Total households (%)
Agriculture 1.426 0.072 0.425 0.497 0.3
Mining 3.355 0.261 1.334 1.595 0.9
Manufacturing 8.994 0.390 2.391 2.781 1.6
Electricity and water 6.744 0.455 2.648 3.102 1.7
Construction 5.035 0.219 1.313 1.532 0.9
Trade and accommodation 188.095 11.093 72.764 83.857 46.8
Transport and communication 158.846 8.409 51.727 60.136 33.5
Financial and business services 50.657 3.021 20.093 23.113 12.9
Community services 5.468 0.300 2.438 2.739 1.5
Total (ZAR million) 428.619 24.220 155.132 179.352 100.0

Source: The data are authors’ own calculations based on multiplier analysis.
ZCC, Zion Christian Church; SA, South Africa; SAM, social accounting matrix.

benefit from the event, Table 7 shows that it is mainly middle-
income and high-income households that derive the bulk of the
income benefit. However, more than ZAR24 million (or 13.5%
of all income) is received by the poor, which is still substantial
enough to have a positive influence on poverty alleviation in
the province.
DISCUSSION
The first finding indicates that the pilgrimage created a
ZAR400 million boost for the regional economy during
2011, which is significantly lower than most of the other
pilgrimages discussed in the Introduction section, including
the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. This might be attributed to
three key factors: the first is that just over 50% of the pilgrims
are from the region (Limpopo province), followed by 44.5%
from the rest of South Africa and the remainder from foreign
countries, which provides the pilgrimage with a strong local
content resulting in lower cost (expenditure) to attend.
Second, the average spending per person is very low, and
this confirms the notion by Anderson (1999) and Bompani
(2010) that many of the ZCC members are low-income earners.
The average spending of tourists from neighbouring countries
in South Africa during 2010 was approximately R5500, which
is much higher than the spending of the average pilgrim. In
terms of spending by South Africans at other events, such as
arts festivals, the average spending exceeds R1000 per person.
Again, the spending by pilgrims is much less compared with
the spending at these events.
Third, leakages from the economy are high, which confirms
the research carried out by Van Der Merwe and Saayman
(2012) on tourism activities in the province compared with
other provinces in South Africa. The production structure of
the economy is still mainly primary products-based, and this
is evident in the low indirect impact, which shows that the
link from final demand to industry has not been established.
Low manufacturing and wholesale activity in the province
contribute to this outflow of money. Therefore, if the regional
government wants the region to have greater benefits from
the pilgrimage, more should be done to develop industrial
activity to allow linkages between retailers and producers to
be established in order to curb the outflow of money. As a
primary products-based economy with a growing tourism
service sector, this would require clear strategies from
provincial policy-makers to develop the manufacturing side
of the economy.
The second finding that follows from the analysis is that the
church’s (ZCC) own requirements or rules have a significant
impact on the pilgrims’ spending behaviour and therefore of
the economic impact of the event. These rules include that
pilgrims must stay on site during the event. This means that

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 407–414 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/jtr

they are not allowed to visit other tourist sites or attractions
during the pilgrimage (event) in order to remain focused on
spiritual growth. Furthermore, low-cost accommodation is
provided on site by the church (in temporary structures, such
as tents), and those without accommodation sleep in buses on
site. This also applies to meals provided by vendors. It is clear
that these rules limit the spending opportunities of pilgrims, as
is evident from the low spending per pilgrim.
Other pilgrimages that also attract a large number of low-
income earners (e.g. Mecca) derive greater economic benefits
because they lack such stringent regulations (described above)
(see Vukonic, 1998 and The Economist, 2002). However,
despite all the above, the ZCC pilgrimage remains the largest
single annual event in South Africa – not only in terms of the
number of pilgrims (attendees) but also in terms of its
economic value. What does this imply for destination? The
event creates some economic benefit for the region, mainly
due to the number of pilgrims that attend the event rather than
the magnitude of spending per pilgrim. The scope is, however,
limited for the region to grow the value of the event, and this is
mainly because of the rules of the church (described above)
and the relative remote location of the site. On route to the site,
there might be opportunities to increase spending and the
economic benefit, since the main mode of transport remains
road transport. What distinguishes this event from many others
is the fact that the church focuses on the spiritual growth
of relative low-income earning pilgrims and that there is not
a profit motive.
An aspect that is not taken into account in the calculation
of an economic impact is that of displacement, which can be
seen as a limitation of the current research. In the case of the
ZCC pilgrimage, the effect that the pilgrimage might have of
discouraging other tourists from visiting the province during
the weekend of the church gathering at Moria might be
significant. Road congestion, especially through the toll
gates, serves to deter travellers to Limpopo Province during
the Easter weekend. This negative effect might partially
offset the positive economic spin-offs that the province derives
from the pilgrimage. Another limitation of the research is that
the economic impact is calculated using a SAM, which do
not take price increases into consideration and may therefore
overestimate the impact of the event.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this research was to gain greater insight into the
regional economic value and spending behaviour of pilgrims in
one of the largest pilgrimages in the world and the largest in
Africa, namely the ZCC pilgrimage to Moria. The literature
revealed that although there has been research on religious
events in other parts of the world, this is the first time that a
study of this nature was undertaken at the ZCC annual event.
The research therefore contributes to the literature on the
economics of pilgrimages and to understanding pilgrims’
spending behaviour – especially in the African context.
The results from the research show that the magnitude of
the event from an economic point of view is important for
the provincial economy. Although, in comparison with similar
Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Economic Value of a Pilgrimage 413
pilgrimages elsewhere, it is relatively small in economic terms.
This is caused by several factors that have been highlighted in
the discussion above. The most important of these can be
summarized as follows: (i) the large proportion of local
participants; (ii) the low spending per pilgrim; and (iii) the
structure of the local economy. It is noteworthy that these
pilgrims are not high-income earners, which implies low
spending, and that the event itself (i.e. church regulations)
inhibits the opportunity to spend more in the region.
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