TEAM Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, Vol.7, Issue 1, December 2010 27 Sustainable Ecotourism: The Case of East Malaysia K. Jayaraman*, Soh Keng Lin, Li Lian Yap and Wooi Leng Ong Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, MALAYSIA The paper highlights sustainable ecotourism in East Malaysia and focuses on the tourism environment of Sabah and Sarawak, the two states in East Malaysia. It describes the pattern of the monthly international tourist arrivals for 2002 to 2009, and it identifies the peak and lean periods of visitors for East Malaysia by using seasonal decomposition procedures. The paper concludes with the strategic impacts and policy recommendations of tourism development towards sustainable ecotourism for the industry players as well as policy makers. Keywords: Ecotourism, socio-demographic variables, international tourist arrivals, seasonal decomposition. *Email: dr_kjraman@usm.my