Penang’s George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) will return for the seventh edition this year from November 24-26 with the theme Monsters & (Im)Mortals.

The three-day festival will see panel discussions, book launches, workshops, a poetry marathon, readings, conversations, spoken word performances, dance and film screenings.

Literary luminaries from aroind the globe such as Icelandic poet and children’s book writer Gerður Kristný, Belgian cultural historian David van Reybrouck, and Burmese poet and artist Maung Day will be in attendance, as well as local talents from Malaysia such as novelist Fahmi Mustaffa and fantasy author Zen Cho.

This year’s GTLF is accompanied by a fringe festival and a free public screening of the movie You Mean the World to Me, set in 1970s Penang and the first Malaysian film to be filmed entirely in Penang Hokkien.

The festival is the largest international literary festival in Malaysia and is funded by the state government of Penang, with support by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau as festival producer.

Destination Asia has launched Agent Hub, a password-protected online platform partner that agents can use to access up-to-date itineraries, sales tools, training presentations and factsheets, country information and more.

“Our partners are now able to view and download the latest information from each destination they work with us in – and as the site is regularly updated, you no longer need to spend time contacting each country for specific details or updates,” the DMC said in a statement.

Moreover, having agents accessing the same data can help “eliminate confusion or miscommunication between our partners, reservation teams and product departments”.

Also available is a professional quality photo library and the Destination Asia Video Suite. Agents can download high-res images and HD (also 4K option when available) videos for use in their own marketing tools.

Agents currently working with Destination Asia and would like to request an account can email sales@destination-asia.com.

Wyndham Worldwide, which operate brands such as Travelodge, Ramada and Days Inn, has announced plans to spin off its hotel business and combine its timeshare businesses, a strategic move to allow the two separate companies to focus on their core business and growth opportunities.

Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, will become a new publicly traded pure-play hotel company; while Wyndham Vacation Ownership, with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, will be combined with Wyndham Destination Network, home to RCI, the world’s largest timeshare exchange company.

The two public companies intend to enter into long-term exclusive license agreements to retain their affiliation with Wyndham Rewards, as well as continued collaboration on key inventory sharing and customer cross-sell initiatives.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 1H2018. The corporate names of the post-spin public companies have not yet been decided.

Following the separation, both companies will have significant scale and leadership positions within their industries, strong cash flows, rich portfolios of brands, and existing relationships in place to drive attractive growth and shareholder value.

The transaction will be effected through a pro rata distribution of the new hotel company’s stock to existing shareholders.

The two companies will have separate boards of directors, both of which will be helmed by Wyndham Worldwide CEO and chairman Stephen Holmes as non-executive chairman.

Wyndham Hotel Group CEO Geoff Ballotti and Wyndham Vacation Ownership CEO Michael Brown will each continue to lead the respective companies as president and CEO, and Gail Mandel, CEO of Wyndham Destination Network, will also retain his post.

Tourism officials in Kyoto are implementing initiatives to address complaints about tourist overcrowding, termed by local media as “pollution by tourism”.

Over 56.8 million tourists visited the city in calendar 2015, a record high, spending nearly one trillion yen (US$9.12 billion).

However, the vast tourist volume is putting pressure on transport infrastructure, while demand for accommodation has led owners of vacant properties to lease out properties – often illegally – according to Shuhei Akahoshi, managing director of the city’s Department of Conventions & Tourism.

Moreover, foreign tourists are often unaware of local customs such as separating trash, hence creating friction with some locals.

The city’s tourism authorities have taken measures to reduce discord.”We have several ongoing advertising campaigns that promote better manners among tourists. We partnered TripAdvisor to release a guide on this and regularly release information on etiquette online and in tourist information magazines,” Akahoshi said.

He added that the city is dispersing crowds by promoting events beyond peak hours and popular parts of the city as well as encouraging visits in the less-congested months of January, May and June.

Matthew Stevens, conventions and conferences specialist, Kyoto Convention and Visitors Bureau, said travel operators and hotels are “the ideal way to get the message across” as the primary touch points for first-time visitors.

“We are also working very closely with travel companies and hotels to promote these ideas and have so far released three booklets that we distribute to travel firms for their customers,” Stevens said. The most recent is a ryokan guide that also instructs foreign guests on etiquette.

The Ascott has announced a S$170.3 million (US$125 million) investment to develop the Singapore flagship of its co-living, millennial targeted concept, lyf, scheduled for opening within the Funan integrated development in 2020.

Made through its serviced residence global fund with Qatar Investment Authority, the investment comprises S$90.5 million allocated to acquiring land and $$80 million to developing the concept.

The nine-storey serviced residence will form part of Funan, located in Singapore’s City Hall area close to the CBD and attractions such as the National Gallery, comprising a mall and two office towers offering retail outlets and co-working spaces.

lyf Funan Singapore will offer 279 units and up to 412 rooms, spanning about 1.1ha in gross floor area. Unit types include Big Bed studio units and All-Together business suites ranging from three- to six-bedrooms. The business suites offer smart display screens for video conferencing and discussions while a large table doubles up as a collaborative working zone and dining area.

The property will offer Connect social zones such as co-working spaces and an arena for activities such as hackathons, talks and workshops, as well as the Bond social kitchen for guests to prepare meals and take cooking classes. Other facilities include a gymnasium and Wash & Hang laundromat, where guests can play a round of Foosball while waiting for their laundry.

The acquisition also cements Ascott’s fast-growing portfolio as a serviced residence operator in Singapore, with close to 2,000 units in 12 properties. Within a span of two months, the company has added about 1,000 units across four properties in Singapore; which includes securing a contract from Low Keng Huat (Singapore) to manage a 166-unit Citadines Balestier Singapore (opening in 2021), featuring studios and one-bedroom units, a swimming pool, gymnasium with a running track, social pavilion, children’s playground and barbeque pit.

This follows Ascott’s recent addition of the 240-unit lyf Farrer Park Singapore that was also awarded by Low Keng Huat, as well as a prime 299-unit serviced residence at CapitaLand’s landmark integrated development at Raffles Place. Both serviced residences are also slated to open in 2021.

Ascott is working towards its target of achieving 10,000 units under the lyf brand worldwide by 2020.

Timor-Leste is set to get its first internationally branded hotel with Hilton’s signing of Hilton Dili Palm Springs with Jackson Lay, CEO of The Lay Group.

Located in the capital city and main economic centre of Dili, the hotel will offer 140 rooms (60m²) and 10 suites (60m²), event and meeting spaces, an executive lounge, a signature restaurant, lobby bar, rooftop bar, fitness centre, spa and outdoor pool.

Construction has commenced for the hotel and is scheduled to complete in late 2018.

For ITB Asia 2017, Messe Berlin (Singapore) has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization of Singapore (KTO), an agreement that is expected to bring more leisure, business events and corporate buyers to the show.

Said Yoon Seung Hwan, director of KTO: “Looking at global business trends, growth in corporate travel and MICE, it is clear that Asia will be the most strategic market for us in the next decade. Our partnership with ITB Asia will expand our presence and strengthen our proposition to the Asian and South-east Asian market.”

Yoon added that the show offers “a great platform for us to reach a large number of participants”.

KTO, along with Seoul Tourism Organisation, Jeju Convention and Visitors Bureau and HanaTour Services, will have their respective booths at ITB Asia 2017.

Singapore-based Roxy-Pacific Holdings has acquired its second hotel asset in Japan, Tenmabashi Grand Hotel Osaka, for three billion yen (US$27.2 million).

Upon completion of the acquisition in October 2017, the 154-room Tenmabashi Grand Hotel Osaka will be self-managed by the group’s Noku Roxy hospitality management arm, which currently operates Noku Kyoto in Japan.

Chris Teo, managing director of Roxy-Pacific, commented: “Since its soft opening in April this year, Tenmabashi Grand Hotel Osaka has received warm reception due to the merits of its location and easy connectivity to public transportation.

“Our self-managed Noku Kyoto hotel has achieved high room rates and good yield – a testament of the effective business model that we hope to replicate in the Osaka hotel asset so as to bolster our recurring income streams for greater resilience.”

In the Noku Roxy hospitality brand asset pipeline are a 50-villa resort in the Maldives, and a separate resort in Phuket’s Chalong sub-district, which are planned for launch in the last quarter of 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Alila Solo has appointed Alasdair Davidson as the hotel’s new general manager.

Davidson previously held senior executive positions at Alila Maldives and Alila Diwa Goa, followed by three years as general manager of Alila Ubud in Bali. The hospitality veteran has more than 20 years of international experience in the Maldives, India, Australia and Fiji.

Prior to rejoining Alila, he was the general manager of Odin Hospitality in Hokkaido.