ABERDEEN'S hotel sector has experienced a major drop in occupancy for the third month in a row as cost-cutting measures in the troubled oil and gas industry continue to bite.

Accountants BDO said that year-on-year occupancy in Aberdeen dropped 13.4 per cent to 68.5 per cent, while hotels' room yield also fell by 22 per cent to £61.32.

This contrasted with strong increases in revenue in Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh of 21 per cent, 15.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent respectively.

Alastair Rae, a partner in the Property, Leisure and Hospitality sector at BDO, said: “There is little doubt that Aberdeen’s hoteliers are facing a difficult time.

"While the drop in occupancy and revenue comes from a high base point last year, there are clear signs that the oil and gas sector is dramatically reducing its costs in the city with hospitality among the first expenses to be cut.

“I believe that this situation will not improve in the immediate future so would caution the hotel sector in Aberdeen to ensure it is managing its costs to cope with the reduced demand and income.”

The report comes amid gloomy forecasts for the energy industry in Scotland's fuel capital, which has been badly affected by the global drop in oil prices.

The annual economic survey for Oil & Gas UK said last week that the total number of people employed in and around the sector had fallen from 440,000 to 375,000 since the beginning of 2014, largely due to the crash in world oil prices.

It is thought that the fall in oil prices has directly contributed to the loss of 12,000 industry jobs since November. Meanwhile rates for contractors, who work on jobs as short as 30 days, have been cut by around a quarter.

And there are few signs of the situation improving soon with analysts at Goldman Sachs predicting that the global price of oil could drop as low as $20 a barrel amid an upturn in production from the Middle East.

However, while Aberdeen's hotels head for the doldrums, there was better news for the sector in other Scottish cities.

Edinburgh recorded the highest hotel revenue in the UK outside London at £86.34, while Glasgow had the highest occupancy in Scotland at 91.5 per cent followed.

Events in Scotland's largest city that helped boost occupancy included Unison’s national delegate conference; an NHS Scotland event; and the European Human Genetics conference.

Scotland’s average price per room of £68.39 was the greatest of any part of the UK, its percentage growth of 6.2 per cent was lower than that of England (10.4 per cent) and Wales (17.6 per cent), indicating a drag on countrywide numbers as an effect of the downturn in Aberdeen.

Alastair said: “Once again this is a tale of three cities with the hospitality sector across Scotland growing substantially as tourism and business returns in force.

"Glasgow had an outstanding month and Inverness has proved it remains the jewel in the Highland crown. Edinburgh, of course, is becoming a year round global destination.

"Given that these numbers are so high prior to the city’s festival season it seems likely that this will be a record breaking summer for the sector.”