Problem

Source: New Zealand NZMOC Camp Selection Problems 2015 p9

Tags: combinatorics



Consolidated Megacorp is planning to send a salesperson to Elbonia who needs to visit every town there. It is possible to travel between any two towns of Elbonia directly either by barge or by mule cart (the same type of travel is available in either direction, and these are the only types of travel available). Show that it is possible to choose a starting town so that the salesperson can complete a round trip visiting each town exactly once and returning to her starting point, while changing the type of transportation used at most one time (this is desirable, since it’s hard to arrange for the merchandise to be transferred from barge to cart or vice versa).