AIRINC (Associates for International Research, Inc.)

Data Points brings you the latest updates from our Housing, Goods & Services, and Tax departments. These highlights are based on our expert international surveys, which are conducted on location by our global data collection team.

On my most recent trip, I surveyed Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital and most populous city in Tanzania. While conducting my survey, I observed that several areas have developed in order to cater to expatriate needs. While overall availability of goods and services is consistent, certain categories are lacking and require purchases to be made on home leave or through travel to nearby international cities, like Nairobi.

June 1 marked a day of changing times in Venezuela. The price of gasoline in the country has been among the lowest in the world for decades, and in recent years, currency depreciation has made the resource practically free.

AIRINC Housing Update: Below are select snapshots of rental markets around the world. These updates are taken from AIRINC's on-site surveys conducted during the first quarter of 2020. 

Relocating is already a challenge, but relocating during a pandemic adds a new level of difficulty. After years of surveying based in AIRINC’s Cambridge office, I was honored to accept a position at our Hong Kong branch late last year. From the beginning, I was excited to move to a vibrant global city, but the logistics proved more challenging than expected as a novel coronavirus (at the time still unnamed) spread in January. Even before being declared a pandemic, COVID-19 was having a broad and unpredictable impact across the globe.

On my recent survey, I visited Botswana. The capital, Gaborone, has roughly three hundred thousand residents and the availability of goods and services is moderate, largely due to the city’s location right on the border with South Africa.

With the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the past few months, many locations throughout the world are experiencing shortages and/or price changes to many goods and services items. The unprecedented outbreak has led to shortages in many locations that do not regularly experience supply disruptions. Reasons for the shortages include exceptional demand for certain items such as disinfectants, medical products, and non-perishable staple foods, and disruptions to supply chains resulting from travel or operational restrictions.

Data Points brings you the latest updates from our Housing, Goods & Services, and Tax departments. These highlights are based on our expert international surveys, which are conducted on location by our global data collection team.

During these unprecedented times, Global Mobility is challenged with the difficult task of supporting an international workforce amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey focuses on how companies are handling their international expatriate populations, and the steps Global Mobility is taking to address the unique circumstances due to COVID-19.

In this unprecedented time, AIRINC has created a landing page to serve as a hub to help you learn more about how your peers in global mobility are responding to the impact of COVID-19. In addition we will share advice from our team, exchange rate changes, upcoming events, blog posts related to the crisis, and relevant documents. We also plan to add information related to the COVID-19 recovery.