Solving touristic trip planning problem by using taboo search approach

In this paper, we introduce an algorithm that automatically plans a touristic trip by considering some hard and soft constrains. Opening and closing hours of POIs (Points of Interest), trip duration and trip allocated budget represent the hard constraints, while the satisfaction factors of the POIs and travelling distance in the trip are considered as soft constraints. We use the soft constraints to evaluate the generated solution of the algorithm. The algorithm is developed by utilizing the taboo search method as a meta heuristic. The operators of Swap, Insert and Delete are used to explore the search space. The Swap and Insert operator are used in each iteration of the algorithm loop, while the Delete operator is used whenever the algorithm tends to enter in an endless cycle. The algorithm is developed by using Java programming language, while the data repositories are created in the XML format. The algorithm is tested with 40 instances of POIs of the city of Vienna. Various entry parameters of the algorithm are used to test its performance. The results gained are discussed and compared in respect to the optimal solution.