for excellence and innovation, but they also serve as examples for others to follow". This coveted award for the best website has been previously won only by the likes of the Hong Kong Tourism Board with mega million dollar budgets. The Deer Park Hotel website was selected for its technical quality, effectiveness, ease of access, creativity / design, information content, promotional value and results generated.

Delighted by the prestigious accolade, Dr. T.N. Jinasena, Managing Director of the Jinasena Group of Companies, who own and manage the hotel said, "There are over 100,000 hotels throughout the world, all of which operate on a level playing field. This website however, has now propelled us above the rest of our competition."

The Deer Park is a chalet-style luxury jungle resort designed to give its guests the ultimate jungle/village life experience, whilst being cosseted in luxury. The Hotel comprises of 88 chalets, including luxury suites and is situated on a 12-acre extent of land.

Speaking of the Internet with relation to tourism, Affno's CEO Suren Kannangara said, "It is more important now than ever before for the Sri Lankan tourism industry to invest in travel and tourism e-business initiatives if Sri Lanka wants to remain attractive and competitive today and into the future".

He quoted the following statistics in support of his claim, "While the global travel industry took a strong hit in the wake of September 11, the Internet as a channel for booking travel is not only growing stronger, but actually becoming the method of choice for many consumers and businesses for both bookings and information".

"The fate of Sri Lankan tourism too could have been a lot different despite July 24th and September 11th, if our tourism industry had its e-business infrastructure properly in place. Also travel and tourism during 2001 was one of the few industries to continue investment and expansion on the Internet against a background of over correction in the high-tech stocks. And the World Tourism Organisation Business Council (WTOBC) suggests that the Internet may account for one in every four travel purchases in the main generating markets within the next five years", Mr. Kannangara added.