HOTEL occupancy in Scotland fell 2.4% in February while the rest of the UK reported a rise.

In England occupancy was up 1.1% with Wales reporting a 2.6% rise, according to data from accountancy firm PKF.

Room yield dropped by 2.2% in Scotland to £41.43 but that was ahead of the £39.52 in England and £36.97 in Wales.

Aberdeen was the strongest performer outside London with occupancy up 3.5% and revenue by 14.3%.

In Edinburgh occupancy grew by 1.9%, in Inverness it was 11.6% while Glasgow saw a decline of 2.1%.

Alastair Rae, partner in real estate and hospitality at PKF, said: "If the trend continues in this way for several more months then there may be more to worry about."