Question

annual spending by international tourists in four countries (in billions of us dollars)
country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018
south korea | $21.00 | $17.20 | $23.10
japan | $33.50 | $37.00 | $45.30
thailand | $48.50 | $57.10 | $61.40
malaysia | $19.70 | $20.30 | $21.80

one measure of international tourism is how much money visitors from abroad spend in a country. a student writing a report about tourism in several asian countries notes that among the countries in the table, most had annual increases in international tourism revenue in 2017 and 2018, but that trend wasn’t universal. for example, ______

which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?

a) in each year shown, the revenue from tourism by residents of those countries was greater than the revenue from international tourism.

b) japan’s international tourism revenue was higher in 2016 than it was in 2018.

c) south korea’s annual international tourism revenue decreased from 2016 to 2017.

d) in each year shown, thailand had higher international tourism income than any of the other countries.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option using the table data:

• Option A: The table only shows international tourist spending, not domestic (resident) tourism revenue. So this is irrelevant.
• Option B: Japan's 2016 revenue is $33.50 billion, 2018 is $45.30 billion. 2018 is higher, so this is false.
• Option C: South Korea's 2016: $21.00, 2017: $17.20. $17.20 < $21.00, so revenue decreased from 2016 to 2017. This shows the trend (annual increases) wasn't universal.
• Option D: This is about Thailand being higher than others each year, not about the trend of annual increases not being universal.

Answer:

C. South Korea’s annual international tourism revenue decreased from 2016 to 2017.