Question

Read the sentence.

Answer 1

I`m assuming the underlined word is dearth, so

the answer is a. shortage

Answer 2

The meaning of the word dearth is shortage.

You can easily use context clues within the sentence to help you figure out the meaning. We know that there was cool, rainy weather, which alone likely doesn't attract tourists. However, the meaning becomes clear when we continue reading that there were plenty of available hotel rooms. There simply weren't enough tourists to fill them. Therefore, there was a shortage versus a surplus of tourists.