Over each of the five previous years, the number of tourists who choose to travel to the Caribbean by cruise ship has steadily increased. Vacationers have discovered that the first-rate food, spacious cabins, and plentiful opportunities for social intercourse far outweigh the slightly cheaper alternative of flying. Yet despite these seeming advantages, the number of vacationers who took cruises to the Caribbean this year has dropped by almost ten percent.

Each of the following, if true, could help to account for the decrease in vacationers taking cruises to the Caribbean EXCEPT:

a. The government's Travel Safety Bureau recently published reports showing that flying is and always has been much safer than traveling by sea.
b. Cruise ship ticket prices have risen dramatically as a result of new taxes, while airplane ticket prices have remained at their previous levels.
c. First class airplane tickets now guarantee gourmet meals and more spacious seating, which is arranged in patterns intended to maximize social intercourse.
d. The Caribbean islands are no longer considered by international business to be an attractive marketplace, and so fewer deals are made there.
e. The political climate in the Caribbean this year is much less stable than in previous years, resulting in increased risk of harm to vacationers.

[spoiler]Source : Kaplan CAT 2 , OA later[/spoiler]