![](https://www.mathekalender.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Travelling_Santa_Problem.jpg)
© Zyanya Santuario, MATH+
Author: Dion Gijswijt (TU Delft)
Project: 4TU.AMI
Challenge
Presently, Santa is on a mission to deliver gifts to children. His journey spans six cities, denoted as A to F. Starting from Santa’s Workshop (SW), he must select one among A, B, C, D, E, or F to begin his visit.
The reindeers, tired from playing, can’t travel long distances anymore. This necessitates Santa to chart the shortest route possible. He has a map, which indicates flying distances between cities along connecting lines, and the circles display the distances from SW to each city.
![Karte_Gijswijt Karte_Gijswijt](https://www.mathekalender.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Karte_Gijswijt-400x400.png)
Santa has to choose now the shortest sequence for visiting the cities before returning to Santa’s Workshop. For instance, if he takes the route SW-F-A-E-B-C-D-SW, the total journey length adds up to 16+15+18+16+12+11+17=105.
What is the length of the shortest tour that Santa can take?
Possible Answers:
- 104
- 103
- 102
- 101
- 100
- 99
- 98
- 97
- 96
- 95