By Caroline Washaya-Moyo
Bindura Municipality is positioning religious tourism as one of its key tourism products, with the Prayer Mountain for All Nations emerging as a major attraction capable of drawing pilgrims from across Africa and beyond.
Bindura Municipality Communications Manager Spren Mutiwi said the local authority was using platforms such as the 2026 Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe Tourism Expo to showcase the municipality’s unique tourism products and put religious tourism firmly on Zimbabwe’s tourism map.
Mutiwi said the Prayer Mountain for All Nations had over the years attracted thousands of pilgrims from Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States, who travel to the site for prayer, fasting and other spiritual activities.
“This is where we have seen faith meeting with the mountain and where nations meet in prayer. It has become a symbol,” he said.
He described the religious tourism attraction as one of the municipality’s tourism “heartbeats”, saying its appeal cuts across different denominations and brings together people united by their faith.
“Even in the denominational churches within Zimbabwe, you can find the Mapostori, Anglicans, every denomination. They will come to a prayer mountain seeking for different spiritual activities,” Mutiwi said.
The scale of activity at the site, he said, demonstrated the potential of religious tourism to contribute to local economic development through increased visitor numbers and associated spending.
Mutiwi said a religious night and miracle night event held at the site recently attracted more than 10,000 people, with participants coming from across Southern Africa as well as America and Asian countries.
He said the event further demonstrated the international appeal of the site and its potential to position Bindura as a destination for faith-based tourism.
According to Mutiwi, religious tourism could complement Zimbabwe’s more established tourism products, including Victoria Falls, by creating another distinctive experience capable of attracting international visitors.
“We have seen quite a number of marketing drives in terms of Victoria Falls and other things, but we feel that we have a lot of tourism attractions in the form of religious tourism that we can leverage and promote and bring Zimbabwe on the world map,” he said.
He said the municipality viewed the Prayer Mountain as more than a local attraction, arguing that its ability to bring together people from different countries, races, ethnic groups and denominations could give it a distinctive international identity.
Embracing digital transformation
Beyond tourism promotion, Mutiwi said Bindura Municipality was embracing digital technology to improve service delivery and strengthen engagement with residents.
The municipality has introduced customer relationship management modules that enable residents and stakeholders to communicate with council, register queries and provide feedback from the comfort of their homes.
Mutiwi said some of the digital systems were developed by the Harare Institute of Technology, following calls for institutions of higher learning to provide practical solutions to challenges facing local authorities.
He said the municipality was also working towards automating services such as housing waiting lists and stands allocation.
The move, he said, would help reduce challenges associated with manual systems, including double allocation of residential stands.
“The same system cannot allocate the same stand to someone. So we have really embraced the call for automation and ensuring that we move in line with the direction that has been given,” he said.
Mutiwi also said Bindura was strengthening accountability and transparency, drawing lessons from challenges the municipality faced several years ago.
He said adherence to public procurement procedures, accountability and transparency remained critical to protecting the image of local authorities and ensuring that public resources were properly managed.
As Zimbabwe continues to diversify its tourism products and promote inclusive economic development under NDS2, Bindura’s push to develop religious tourism provides an opportunity to connect faith, culture, hospitality and local economic activity.
The municipality believes the Prayer Mountain for All Nations can become a significant pillar of that strategy, positioning Bindura not only as an administrative centre but also as an emerging destination for religious tourism.
