R E G I O N A L FOCUS GENERAL MANAGER OF CDD, DANA DASCALU We have seen moderate growth in Eastern European areas but this is still anaemic compared with past years inundated with requests from corporate partners for emergency transport and short-term housing requirements for staff leaving Ukraine. Although the war in Ukraine has not had a direct effect on its business since Ukraine was never one of its destinations - Andrea Mller at EuroMove Relocation in Hungary says the conflict has affected its neighbour mainly in two ways. Lots of Ukrainian people are leaving their country the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees mentions five million refugees. 630,000 refugees have arrived in Hungary so far and this number is increasing, says Dr Mller, who is agent and customer relations manager at EuroMove. You can see Ukrainian people everywhere in social media, out in the streets or in the shops and professional associations like Hungarian Red Cross, and private citizens are helping Ukrainians in many ways by collecting clothes and food, offering free accommodation and free schooling for children. Second, our economy is heavily affected as historically we have always been strongly dependent on Russian energy sources, however we have not seen any disruption so far, unlike in Poland and Bulgaria. MIXED PICTURE OF RECOVERY Aside from the impacts caused by the conflict in Ukraine, FIDI companies we contacted reported a mixed 32 FF306 June-August 22 pp30-37 Regional Focus.indd 32 picture for how their local and regional economies were getting back on their feet in the aftermath of the pandemic. Dana Dascalu at CDD Relocation says traffic to and from Ukraine before the conflict had not been on a regular basis, whereas traffic had once been busier to and from Russia. At present, this has understandably stopped. Our company has been operating continuously during the pandemic, we had no business interruptions, she said. Both 2020 and 2021 were very good years, business wise, and 2022 has been shaping up really well so far. We do expect some changes in the moving industry, and we will all have to adapt. At Move One, which operates across the region as well as in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, Clements has seen moderate growth in Eastern European areas, but this is still very anaemic compared with past years. Trends he has witnessed in the market are similar to global ones, with smaller moves, more shortterm assignments, continued lump sum interest by customers, proving to be common factors. At Santa Fe Relocation, Anthony Heszberger is Director for the Central and Eastern European region and based in Budapest. While the Ukraine conflict has meant uncertainty for Eastern European economies, the situation is improving WW W. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 07/06/2022 14:58