Simulation of a Regional Scheduling Problem

A large corporate client of Rosenbluth Travel Agency conducts several foreign trips every year which include scientists and business persons. During their tours, each group is supposed to visit as many as 60 different companies located in about 20 different cities. Each meeting is to be attended by a business person and a scientist. Some meetings require the attendance of a specific individual while some allow any scientist or business person. Our objective was to determine a feasible tour with the minimum number of repeat visits. We developed a computer program that uses heuristics to solve the problem.