>>this week on world business a look back at some of our best stories of the last year including... >>trade between india and pakistan has been held back by a hostile relationship. but now businessmenfrom both countries are trying to build closer ties. >>that is important and india needs it, pakistan needs it. >>luxury in london, where high end hotels are attracting investment despite the recession >>we were able to secure what we believe is one of the most attractive hotel sites in london >>and efficient, emissions free and always available; could pod cars be the public transport of the future? >>no waiting time, direct travel, it's available around the clock.

>>hello and welcome. i'm raya abirached and this is world business your weekly insight into the global business trends shaping our lives. this week we are looking back at some of the best stories of the last 12 months. india and pakistan may be neighbours, but because of the climate of hostility, annual trade between them remains a paltry 2 billion dollars. this could surge to 10 billion if only relations could be improved and businessmen from both sides are now trying to forge closer economic ties. >>reporter: india and pakistan share a border almost 3,000 kilometres long, but there is only one formal crossing point. this is wagah in punjab. it should be open for trade between the two south asian neighbours,

but only a trickle of goods actually gets through. it's a symptom of the often hostile relationship between the two countries over the last 63 years. >>hashwani: we share common history, common language, culture and borders, so the upside is all but natural. thenatural trade if the political and other contentious issues - the impediments - are removed, it will increase manifold without a doubt. >>reporter: there are many roadblocks to trade. new delhi has imposed tariff and non-tariff barriers on pakistani goods, while islamabad allows the import of only 1,000 kinds of products from india. meaning as much as 6 times official cross border trade is either smuggled or expensively shipped via third partycountries like dubai. even in places like wagah, that fly the flag for business regulations for thepassage of goods seem to be almost designed to hamper efficient trading.

>>hashwani: wagah border is a logistics limitation right now. trucks have to stop on one side, physically they offload it and carry it by coolies and then reload it. so that is ridiculous in this day and age to be having trade of this sort. similarly businessman visas - port of entry and port of exit has to be the same; you cannot have a businessman in a frame of mind to do any business when there so many limitations. >>reporter: in economic terms, india has pulled far ahead of pakistan in the last 20 years, with its economy growing at nearly nine percent. pakistan, on the other hand, regularly makes the list of failed states.many pakistanis can only watch the progress happening on the other side of the border without beingable to replicate it. and for india pakistan represents a huge potential market for its products. at a recent meeting in new delhi, businessmen from both sides discussed the possibility of collaborating in several sectors, including

information technology a sector set to quadruple its exports in the next decade. >>bashir: india has really perfected the areas of business process outsourcing, the it services, the call centres and medical transcription and so on, so there is a lot that we can cooperate and learn from. andthe other important factor is that india has great ambitions, the 2020 plan to grow from 50 billionto let's say 200 billion - and they have calculated that they cannot do it by themselves. that's why they have set up outsourcing centres in egypt, and probably they are setting up in the philippines...so why not in pakistan? >>reporter: despite fears in islamabad that freer trade could flood pakistan with indian goods and stifle domestic industry, both sides have a lot to gain from working together, especially in the garment and textiles industry. these make up 60 percent of pakistan's exports,

and india too is facing tough competition from countries like china and bangladesh. >>jawad: they definitely can work together. supposing i get a very huge order, for which i would need to increase my capacity, but tomorrow what if i don't have any buyers? so instead of my increasing my production capacity and tomorrow run after the markets, i can look at india and if i find somebody with extra capacity available, we can make use of it. and by the same token, indian exporters can explore the possibility of doing it in pakistan. >>reporter: all this depends on whether peace talks take off between both sides. these were put on hold in 2008 after pakistani-based gunmen attacked mumbai, india's financial centre, killing more than 160 people. india says it wants pakistan to take action

against the islamist militants linked to the mumbai killings before it discusses cross-border trade. but while the governments prevaricate - the business community is keen for action. >>bashir: the business people can put the pressure, there has to be economic benefit for both sides. and if all these talks are derailed by the actions of a few people, you kwon, then that is really sad. the two governments should solidify and not let these incidents derail the whole process. that is important. and india needs it, pakistan needs it. >>reporter: despite both countries signing the south asia free trade agreement in 2006, intra-regional trade hasnot taken off. india and pakistan are the two biggest economies of the area, and could have createda win-win situation for the entire region. instead in south asia trade between neighbouring countries stands at a paltry 3 percent of total trade, compared to 55%

in the eu and 60% in nafta. >>jawad: canada exports 80 percent of all its exports to the usa next-door. we are so unfortunate people thatwe haven't realized the potential of regional trade and what it means. it can bring peace. >>reporter: trade and stronger economic ties would not only help india and pakistan alleviate poverty at home, but could well create a stake in peace between the two countries. however, the flip side is that unless there is an end to terrorism and an agreement on kashmir, establishing better economic ties will remain an elusive dream. >>and since we made that film, india and pakistan have toned down the aggression of the border ceremony. another sign that things might be moving in the right direction. despite the downturn, demand

for luxury hotels in london has remained high. even in a city hit harder than most, occupancy rates have been buoyant, new hotels are opening up and some of the better known names are undergoing serious renovation. >>reporter: grandest of the old school...the savoy hotel in the strand. it opened its doors in 1889 and marilyn monroe, charlie chaplin, presidents and princes have all stayed there. the savoy's location on a quiet corner on the banks of the thames makes it one of the capital's prime hotels. but it's been shut for a make-over since 2007. it finally reopens in october, 18 months later than planned. >>macdonald: a lot of things went wrong. and it's an old building. and, you know, what goes with an old buildingin terms of its condition is never truly understood until

you start peeling away the layers, it's clearly a lot more than what was originally envisaged >>reporter: the refurb cost around 340 million dollars. fortunately, the savoy's owner, the saudi prince al-waleed bin talal, has deep pockets. >>macdonald: i think under private ownership who we've had who've been extremely supportive, we're in a very fortunate position in terms of staying the course. had we have been in a different situation, it might...likely have been much, much more difficult. >>scott: the royal suite costs 15,000 dollars a night and even though the savoy isn't even open yet, it's already taken reservations for it and indeed the entire hotel is sold out for the first night. >>reporter also out of service for the past 2 years was the four seasons hotel in park lane...again getting major renovations like the savoy. prince al-waleed bin talal owns a substantial stake in it as well: together these two top hotels account for 13 percent of luxury rooms in the city.

>>slattery: it's not just those hotels reopening, it's other luxury hotels coming on stream. corinthia are opening in northumberland avenue in 2011, another 300 rooms...that's an additional 8 percent. they'll beat the thick end of 20 percent additional rooms on board. that will require quite a bit of recovery .it will take much longer than most people imagine. >>reporter: corinthia is more optimistic. it's spending 420 million dollars on its first london flagship property - an old ministry of defence building, originally a hotel by the same architect that designed thesavoy and on the same stretch of river. >>dixon: we were able to secure what we believe is one of the most attractive hotel sites in london. these opportunities very, very rarely come along and we were part of many people that bid to buy this site.competition is always good. particularly at this top level of the market. if you are competing as one of the top 5 hotels in london,

your clients are going to be wanting to see what you deliver. >>reporter: the corinthia london is due to open in spring 2011. and even at a time of tight credit, this high profile project was able to secure half its finance from barclays bank. >>dixon: they've believed in the location and the desire that we have to create this hotel and also that it'sin a very strong market. i think they saw the opportunity and they were able to see what we were going to create in terms of value for the long-term. >>reporter: which represents something of a shift in attitudes, as high end hotels have not traditionally been attractive to investors. >>sangster: the hotel industry itself has been something of a backwater in terms of property investment. in terms of commercial property, hotels represent, globally, something like 5 percent of the market. >>slattery: quite frankly, big capital has not been particularly strongly attracted to hotels. >>sangster: now it's a much more hard-nosed transaction. you know, what's the return going to be. and i think one

of the things that they've begun to understand is, particularly with a highly valuable asset likea luxury hotel, you've got to be in it for the long term. >>reporter: there's been talk that chinese investors are interested in buying prime hotel properties in london and that travellers from the east are going to be part of a tourist boom in london in the future. but this could be more a case of wishful thinking... >>sangster: it's one of these situations which i think often can be over-egged at least in the short term. i think it's going to be a profound change. we're seeing a profound shift in terms of global economics. we're seeing a shift of power from the west to the east. but the typical thing is it's going to take twice as long as people expect. >>slattery: there will be growth absolutely. there will be strong growth, but some commentators in the market have become a little florid about it. >>reporter: london, though, looks very attractive whether you are an investor or a traveller as one of the effects of the uk's recession -

sterling's decline - has resulted in somewhat of a silver lining for the london's luxury hotel market: >>sangster: if you look how the pound sits against the euro. it's so effectively the rates are off 25 percent against what they were a couple of years ago. it actually looks quite good value coming to london right now. >>reporter: another boost for the capital...the london 2012 olympics. although the games themselves are only 3 weeks long, the effects last beyond that and start earlier. >>dixon: we've had huge levels of interest for people that want to book accommodation for 2012. but also, more importantly, people coming to london in 2011 to start to make their plans. >>reporter: so, as south africa got a boost during the recession from football's world cup, luxury hotel owners in london are hoping that the 2012 olympic games will bring them the gold... >>still to come on world business... >>the high tech public

transport system being tested in stockholm >>saving the planet, one holiday at the time. we look at the impressive growth of volunteer eco tourism >>we thought it would be slightly more interesting to do something worthwhile instead of lying on a beach for two weeks. >>a holiday to help... and the rest in just a moment on world business... >>stockholm is one of several swedish cities planning to introduce pod cars. the pods travel magnetically on rails and are seen as the transport of the future, using next to no energy and yet still

boasting the convenience of taxis. but do the futuristic pods have the potential profitability to take off globally? >>reporter: at this track close to stockholm, a new method of transport is being tested. these futuristic, driverless pods are known as prt or personal rapid transit vehicles. travelling magnetically on rails and powered by electricity they release no emissions at the point of use. and unlike most forms of public transport are always available when you need them ... >>gustafson: no waiting time, direct travel, it's available around the clock. it's also an advantage for those not travelling with increased safety that you are usually elevated, you don't have the risk of being run over by vehicles. >>reporter: the idea is that you simply turn up at your nearest pod car station. swipe your fare card. programme your destination and a pod turns up soon after to collect you.

you can choose to travel alone or with others sharing your destination and the pod takes you from a to b without stopping at up to 25 miles per hour. much like a taxi but without the driver or the risk of getting stuck in traffic. >>dahlgren: today, people think very much that it is either public transportation or private. this technology is a crossover between public and private transport. you decide yourself for any trip. do i have a flu, do i want to sit alone today? i use it privately. otherwise, you can use it publicly. >>reporter: in which case the fare is much lower, similar to a bus fare, which in expensive sweden costs about 3and a half dollars. a british company, advanced transport systems opened their ultra pod car track at heathrow airport's new terminal 5 in june. but the swedish are taking the technology one step further - they plan to spend

over 50 million euros on an inner city track. >>dahlgren: to get this into an industrial scale we need to expand the idea and physically the structure of all these beams that is needed, the guideways, for much longer distances. >>reporter: a recent study by engineering consultancy wsp showed that pod cars could yield a better profit margin than other forms of public transport as long as the cost per kilometre was kept below 7.3 million dollars. currently the estimate for the pilot track is closer to 10 million, but this profit calculation doesn't take into account that pod cars could be used for far more than just passenger transport. >>dahlgren: i certainly think that this system can yield a profit... because it will be used 24 hours a day 7 days a week, both for personal travel and freight/goods transport so no subsidy should be

necessary asit is always with traditional public transport. >>reporter: in the longer term, pod cars could attract private investors including real estate developers looking to increase the value of their properties through faster connections to central business areas. global expansion is also a real possibility... >>windle: it's not only sweden that's planning to implement a system like this. several other cities around the world are also considering their own systems including the carbon neutral city of masdar in abu dhabi, shanghai in china and several cities in the us including ithaca in upstate new york. >>reporter: jacob alan roberts is head of a delegation from ithaca currently visiting sweden to see how they might implement their own system. he believes prt could provide the kind of super convenient public transport to get americans out of their cars.

>>roberts: the triple a just did a study that said on average the cost of owning an automobile is 8-10,000 per year regardless of the model, regardless of the socio-economic status of the owner so i think a lot if public transportation becomes a viable resource in america which it used to be a hundred years ago i think more and more people will be happy to put their car in the garage or become part of car share for those times when they do want to take a drive in the countryside or need a van to go pick up hard ware or something like that. there's a use for those kinds of services. but for the 90% oftrips to just get to and from you're basic every day, you know, routine, public transit works really, really well. >>reporter: once things are up and running, prt's supporters hope that it will demonstrate to the world that podcars are not only environmentally friendly but also safe, convenient and affordable. if it can alsodemonstrate to potential investors that they can be profitable then the system has almost unlimitedpossibilities.

>>this year the global eco tourism industry is expected to generate more than 10 billion dollars of revenue. but for a new breed of volunteer eco tourists, leaving nothing other than footprints when they travel just isn't enough. they want to get their hands dirty and are happy to pay plenty of money to do it. >>ellen: up until they come here, they'd never been on grass, they'd never been out side in the elements. >>reporter: an orientation session for a new batch of volunteers at a cambodian bear sanctuary. >>ellen: generally they've all been confiscated from the pet trade and also the restaurant trade. he was actually found at the back of a restaurant. he's now the breeding male in perth zoo. by looking at thephoto you wouldn't even think he was still alive. >>reporter: the front paw of this unfortunate sun bear ended up a bowl of soup. he'll now live

out his days in comfort...with a steady stream of volunteers helping see to that. >>castano: i'm passionate about wildlife. and i was living in australia so it seemed like it was pretty close to this place and it was a nice idea to help the animals. >>reporter: having paid to fly out to cambodia, and then paid a fee to cover their room and board, they help outwith manual labour, with preparing the animals' food, and with cleaning up the aftermath. >>ford: it's definitely going to be an experience. ie never owned pets before, so i've never cleaned up anything's poo before. that's going to be a big task. >>reporter: this centre is run by the australian ngo free the bears in conjunction with the cambodian wildlife department. >>ellen: we have a nice flow through of volunteers and it's great for the keepers because it gives them a little bit of extra help during the day. and it educates people, teaches people about the work free the bears does. >>reporter: to try to replicate the experience bears would get foraging in the wild, the volunteers prepare

appetizing concoctions of peanut butter and jelly, green beans and dog food to stash around their enclosures. >>ellen: the only thing, the don'ts that you don't do is put them on the electric fence. i know you're laughing but it has been done before. that's why i mentioned it. and don't forget to keep your eyes on the ground for snakes, please. >>maelzer: a circuit of sorts has developed where people can go from country to country virtually anywhere in the world and find opportunities to volunteer their time to help conserve threatened and endangered animal species. >>reporter: for instance, people have gone back and forth between the cambodian bear sanctuary and this centre for rehabilitating orangutan in the malaysian state of sarawak. >>here at the matang wildlife centre, the state's forestry authorities work with a private company called way out experiences to run the rehab and volunteer programmes. >>reporter: wox charges people around 2500 dollars each for a one-month volunteering stint.

>>some two-thirds of that money goes back into rehabilitating the animals, almost all of which were rescued from the pet trade. >>landong: the objective is very simple, plain and clear. if at all it is possible we want these wild animalsthat are captured, seized or whatever to be put back in the wild again in its own original habitat. >>reporter: the money the volunteers pay covers costs like buying veterinary equipment, and building and improving the animals' enclosures...often using their labour as well as their money. >>byrne: it's my honeymoon. we both agreed this is what we wanted to do. we thought it would be slightly more interesting to do something worthwhile rather than lying on a beach for two weeks. >>reporter: and more painful. clearing these fallen trees exposed the volunteers to ferocious red ants.

>>bowen: we were not only fighting huge branches but everything that was living in them as well. we were covered but you're knowing what you are doing is helping out and making a difference. if we came and it was just fun and playing with monkeys then it wouldn't feel like you were actually achieving anything. >>reporter: one of the perks is that the volunteers get a lot closer to the animals than any tourists visiting these centres do. but not close enough to touch them. >>biddle: young ones like this one for example actually need a tutor to encourage them to climb up into the trees. we screen all our staff's blood for infectious diseases each year. but we still don't want to run the risk of passing them something very sub-clinical like just a common cold for us could actually be potentially fatal for this one. >>reporter: the volunteers are warned about the restrictions before they sign up...though some operators may notbe as cautious as they are at matang. >>biddle: ethical travel is booming. its growth is phenomenal. it's almost off the chart. unfortunately with this growth you are seeing unregulated

operators doing whatever they want and that can be to the detriment of the animals that the very volunteers are coming over to help. >>reporter: biddle suggests people do plenty of research about how their money will be spent before committing to a volunteer eco trip. >>sarawak forestry, for its part, says it's happy to continue its relationship with wox...and the volunteer programme. >>landong: it does bring us some contribution in terms of funding. but i think to me more importantly is that the volunteers when they go back to their own respective areas or homes they will become ambassadorsof what we are actually doing here. >>reporter: and some have become much more than just ambassadors for wildlife conservation. >>biddle: we've had maybe 400 volunteers in total. eight of them are now working full time with animals. volunteering is actually seen as a real benefit on a cv of a young

person. it can help a cv for a job,for a university application. it can help people land a career in conservation full time. >>another potential selling point for a burgeoning industry that some are dubbing eco-volun-tourism. >>that's it for this week's world business. thanks for watching. we'll see you again at the same time next week.