Number of backpacker hostels in New Zealand

Hotels: Properties with more than 20 ensuite units and no campground license. A property belongs to this category if it does not have full cooking facilities in most guest rooms OR it has a licensed restaurant.
Motels and apartments (over 20 units): Properties with more than 20 self-contained apartments, motel-style units or cottages at the same location that do not have a licensed restaurant or campground license.
Motels and apartments (6-20 units): Properties offering between 6 and 20 self-contained apartments, motel-style units or cottages at the same location that do not have a licensed restaurant or campground license. This category captures the majority of motels in New Zealand.
Backpackers: Properties with more than 20 stay units where most stay units are beds in dorm rooms or private rooms with shared facilities (excluding those with campground licences).
Holiday parks and campgrounds: Properties with a current campground license that offer powered and/or unpowered sites. They may offer other types of accommodation such as motel units, dorms or cabins.
Lodges and boutique accommodation: All other properties with capacity of six or more stay units. Operators in this group typically self-define using terms such as boutique hotel, country hotel, luxury lodge, boutique lodge etc.

Number of establishments: The number of establishments offering short-term accommodation including those temporarily closed.
Number of stay units: Daily capacity in terms of short-term accommodation units including those temporarily closed e.g. hotel rooms, motel units, dorm beds, camping sites, etc.
Average stay units per establishment: Number of stay units divided by number of establishments.
Monthly stay unit capacity: Number of stay units multiplied by the number of days in the month.
Available monthly stay unit capacity: Number of stay unit nights available to be occupied by short-term guests. This excludes stay units temporarily removed from the inventory due to closures, maintenance, emergency housing etc.
Percentage of stay unit capacity available: Available monthly stay unit capacity divided by monthly stay unit capacity.
Stay unit nights occupied: Number of stay unit nights occupied by short-term guests.
Capacity utilisation rate: Stay unit nights occupied divided by monthly stay unit capacity.
Occupancy rate: Stay unit nights occupied divided by available monthly stay unit capacity.
Total guest nights: The number of guest nights spent in short-term accommodation units e.g. two guests staying 3 nights would generate 6 guest nights.
Domestic guest nights: The number of domestic guest nights spent in short-term accommodation units (New Zealand residents).
International guest nights: The number of international guest nights spent in short-term accommodation units (international visitors).
Guest arrivals: The number of guests that stayed in short-term accommodation units e.g. two guests staying 3 nights would generate 2 guest arrivals.
Average guests per stay unit night: Guest nights divided by stay unit nights occupied.
Average nights stayed per guest: Guest nights divided by guest arrivals.

Statistics are currently reported for areas represented by industry bodies known as Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs). These areas generally align with local or regional council boundaries due to the way they are funded.

The accuracy of the ADP is dependent on the number of responses we receive to the monthly survey. Sample sizes vary by region and property type which has a corresponding impact on data quality at those levels. Robust statistical processes are used to transform the sample data into population estimates, but this does not resolve all of the sampling errors in the data.
Caution should be exercised when comparing these results with those of Stats NZ’s Accommodation Survey due to methodological differences including (but not limited to) coverage, the way capacity is calculated, and the way accommodation types are defined. The impact of these differences on published results is difficult to quantify at this stage. The origin of guest data is based on the best information available to tourism accommodation providers at the time of booking. There are known issues in the definition of international guests based on either usual residence or nationality.

The reported statistics are based on information provided by commercial accommodation providers with at least 6 (six) stay units.

The data excludes stay units occupied by emergency housing (MSD/WINZ), transitional housing (HUD), annual sites, and other permanent residents.
Managed Isolation and Quarantine hotels are also excluded.

Historical results were revised in October 2026.

At URL provided, on the left-hand side menu, go to 'Power View', then under 'All Data' select 'ADP_All_Measures.csv' file.

The Accommodation Data Programme (ADP) provides information about short-term accommodation activity at national, regional, and lower levels. It estimates the guest nights, occupancy rates, and other measures relating to the accommodation industry.