A novel solution encoding in the Differential Evolution algorithm for optimizing tourist trip design problemsA novel solution encoding in the Differential Evolution algorithm for optimizing tourist trip design problems Πλήρης Δημοσίευση σε Συνέδριο Conference Full Paper 2022-05-192019enThis research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund- ESF) through the Operational Programme Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning in the context of the project “Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research” (MIS-5000432), implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).In this paper, a tourist trip design problem is simulated by the Capacitated Team Orienteering Problem (CTOP). The objective of the CTOP is to form feasible solution, as a set of itineraries, that represent a sequence visit of nodes, that maximize the total prize collected from them. Each itinerary is constrained by the vehicle capacity and the total travelled time. The proposed algorithmic framework, the Distance Related Differential Algorithm (DRDE), is a combination of the widely-known Differential Evolution algorithm (DE) and a novel encoding/decoding process, namely the Distance Related (DR). The process is based on the representation of the solution vector by the Euclidean Distance of the included nodes and offers a data-oriented approach to apply the original DE to a discrete optimization problem, such as the CTOP. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated over computational experiments.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/253–26713th International Conference on Learning and Intelligent OptimizationLearning and Intelligent Optimization Trachanatzi Dimitra Τραχανατζη Δημητρα Rigakis Manousos Ρηγακης Μανουσος Taxidou Andromachi Ταξιδου Ανδρομαχη Marinaki Magdalini Μαρινακη Μαγδαληνη Marinakis Ioannis Μαρινακης Ιωαννης Matsatsinis Nikolaos Ματσατσινης Νικολαος Springer Nature Capacitated Team Orienteering Problem (CTOP) Differential Evolution algorithm DR solution encoding