Achi news desk-
The Canadian province of Alberta was expected to bid to host the games but that never materialised, with the Herald on Sunday revealing in October that the UK had put in place a four-nation rescue plan that could include Glasgow.
In April a ‘retrenchment’ plan was proposed for Scotland’s largest city which would see 10 to 13 sports included and held at existing venues, with Glasgow having hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
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Organizers are expected to announce their ‘proposed host’ this month according to Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray.
Assembly Members of Parliament were told on Thursday that if Glasgow was chosen, the games would be held with a reduced budget of around £135m, with £100m of that coming from the Commonwealth Games Federation and the rest includes commercial income.
That would be part of a plan to hold the games with little or no public money being committed.
However, GMB Scotland has warned that the return of the Commonwealth Games should not be given the green light unless a tourism tax is first introduced.
When Glasgow hosted COP 26, delegates were given travel passes allowing free transport on buses, trains and the subway – an integrated transport system is not available to city residents.
In addition, the city underwent a deep clean, with parts of the roof of the Glasgow Science Center being renewed, the Armadillo washed and residents encouraged to clean up rubbish in their area for the arrival of the conference.
Legislation which would give councils the power to introduce a visitor levy to raise money for local tourism facilities and services – a so-called ‘tourism tax’ – is currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament.
A visitor levy already exists in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, or’ all of them, although not all are administered. in the same way.
Last year Manchester became the first city in the UK to introduce an additional charge for overnight accommodation last year with providers collecting the fees and passing them on to the local authority.
GMB Scotland is calling for a visitor levy to be raised ahead of the games, with the revenue used to fund thorough street cleaning, park renewal and road improvements.
The union estimates that a 5% tax on hotel rooms would generate £25million a year which should be set aside to protect and improve parks, roads and cleaning services and the Commonwealth Games should be the target date for its introduction.
John Slaven, GMB organizer in the city council, said that Cop26 should not be repeated when the local authority gave permission to transform the city once and for all before world leaders arrive at the environmental summit in 2021.
A similar clean-up campaign was carried out before the event was held in 2014, with the athletes’ village being used for housing in the East End of the city after the games were over.
Mr Slaven said: “Glasgows were forced to watch in amusement as potholes were miraculously filled, streets were cleaned and visitors were suddenly able to travel across public transport with one integrated travel ticket.
“Of course, the miracle of a clean, modern city disappeared as soon as Cop26 left town leaving the people who live and work in Glasgow wondering what on earth had just happened?
“It cannot be repeated if the Commonwealth Games come back and any improvements made to visitors should be permanent and sustainable. The council should be preparing to introduce a visitor levy at the first opportunity.
“I urge you to ensure that Glasgow is the first to implement the levy when the powers become available to councils; and rule out hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games without implementing the levy.”
Mr Slaven has written to council leader Susan Aitken saying the visitor levy could mitigate the impact of the cuts and help improve the condition of streets and green spaces in the city.
John McArthur, GMB Scotland’s city parks convenor, said earmarking revenue from tourism tax would help protect and restore one of Glasgow’s civic glories.
He said: “The city was nicknamed The Dear Green Place for a reason but that heritage of well-maintained and well-used parks is in vogue.
“Increasing biodiversity has become a convenient excuse for cutting routine maintenance and planting.
“Meanwhile skilled, dedicated park staff are leaving in droves because so little gardening is being done.
“City parks are not a statutory service and an easy target for cuts but well-kept green spaces are just as important as clean streets to Glaswegians and visitors.
“Our parks have always been, and could be again, something to be proud of but a tourist tax could offer them urgent protection.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “The council announced some time ago that it was setting up a team to take forward a business case for a temporary visitor levy, alongside other potential new revenue generating powers being extended to councils from the Scottish Government. .”
