Cape Town's tourism Helicopter industry seems to be booming if one judges it by the amount helicopters flying around over the Cape Peninsula.  It also seems to be an industry that only considers itself and not the detrimental effect it is having on the general peace and well being of the suburbs of Cape Town. The noise on the ground has become increasingly problematic, especially when there are 40 plus flights a day in summer coming over your house.   The Cape Town suburbs and Table Mountain National Park have generally always been quiet spaces but unfortunately, this is no longer the case thanks to an elitist tourism activity reserved for the wealthy minority. The City of Cape Town (to date) has not been able to provide me with the Environmental Impact Assesment report that I would hope has been done for a high volume activity such as this that causes noise and dumps C02 into the atmosphere. Coastal suburbs like Clovelly, Kalk Bay, St James and Muizenberg are being huge...

One only has to drive on Cape Town's roads or watch someone freak out in a queue to see how incredibly stressed out most people are these days.  Tempers are short and people have little patience. The smallest challenge or delay triggers them, resulting in an explosion of emotion that is totally out of proportion to what is happening. Stress is a very big part of everyone's life.  Noise contributes to this significantly - it might even be unconscious and it's only when you go somewhere quiet that you realize just how much you needed the peace.  Your body relaxes and you literally feel like the stress is draining out of you - you are less jumpy, your temper isn't as sort and you actually get a good nights sleep. For you, it might be your neighbors barking dogs or the guy who revs his motorbike engine incessantly.  Others may struggle with the ongoing building sites around Cape Town and the noise this generates.  The really unlucky might have neighbors...

And I found this point to be particularly pertinent to the Cape Town situation:    Tourists will not stop coming if helicopter tours are ended.   Most tourists (more than 58 million last year) come to New York to enjoy its magnificent public spaces, visit theaters and museums, shop, dine in restaurants, and perhaps get a view from a tall building. New York City almost banned Tourism helicopter activities all together.  Various articles have been published on this matter and the most pertinent point has been around noise pollution and how bad it is for people.   A Plague of Helicopters  New York Times 31 January 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/a-plague-of-helicopters-is-ruining-new-york.html City leaders should consider the high price we pay for helicopter tourism, a cost to our environment and to the quality of life in our parks and neighborhoods.  Source: Photo by Frank Köhntopp on Unsplash