New Delhi: The southwest monsoon, generally considered off season for tourism, is proving to be a big draw for travellers eager to soak in the rain. And it’s not just Goa, which has long celebrated the charms of the June-September rainy season, that they are flocking to. Also on the list are destinations in Kerala, another coastal state, as well as hill stations in Himachal, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu as well as the usual locations such as Udaipur.Attractive offers and campaigns by hotels and travel brands are leading to an uptick in travel.“We're seeing strong year-on-year growth in domestic travel this monsoon, with bookings increasing across flights, hotels, buses and trains,” said Anil Goteti, CEO and co-founder of travel fintech platform Scapia. Hotels have been a key growth driver, particularly for seasonal leisure destinations, he said.Read more: Tourism sector can create 100 million more jobs by 2047: FAITHMunnar and Mussoorie have recorded nearly 10-fold growth in hotel bookings compared with the same period last year for the monsoon season, while Coorg, Wayanad, Ooty and Lonavala have seen expansion of about seven times, according to Scapia data.Among leisure destinations, Manali, Guwahati, Kodaikanal, Rishikesh, Pondicherry, Goa and Udaipur continue to see healthy year-on-year growth, with interest also rising for overseas destinations, companies said. Tajikistan, for instance, has seen 249% growth in bookings on Cleartrip. Destinations such as Lakshadweep, Muscat, the Philippines, Leh and Tashkent have all seen double-digit growth on Cleartrip, while hotel bookings for Wayanad and Munnar have seen a triple-digit surge.Also Read: Kashmir tourism boom: Vande Bharat, road trips fuel surge in short staysIndian travellers are increasingly viewing the season as an opportunity to explore destinations that offer unique experiences, said Pallavi Saxena, chief marketing and revenue officer at Cleartrip.Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh have emerged as “standout performers,” among local destinations, recording a 62% year-on-year rise in flight bookings, she said. Flight bookings for Himachal Pradesh are up 13% over last year, Saxena said.Tata Group-backed Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), which has 38 operational properties in Goa, has seen a 15-17% growth in bookings this month over last year, said Ranjit Phillipose, senior vice president, operations, Goa. The chain has also hosted monsoon weddings at its properties.“We are running a Goa Monsoon Feast promotion for eight of our signature restaurants this month,” he said. “Our non-resident footfall has tripled for this promotion so we are getting interesting mileage for our F&B operations too.”While hotel tariffs in Goa typically dropped by nearly 24% during the monsoon period in pre-Covid times, pricing is now “resilient” due to sustained demand, said Rajnish Kumar, co-founder and group CEO, ixigo. Hotel searches for Goa on ixigo have risen nearly 40% in July compared with the peak summer travel season, while flight searches for June and July are up by 10-15% over last year. The monsoon is increasingly emerging as a preferred travel season rather than an off-peak period, driven by travellers seeking immersive wellness and cultural experiences, said Nikhil Sharma, MD and COO, South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group.“July bookings are currently pacing nearly 10% ahead year-on-year,” he said. “Leisure destinations such as Nainital, Jawai, Karjat, Lonavala, Mount Abu, Nathdwara and Goa continue to witness robust demand, while spiritual destinations including Ayodhya, Varanasi and Puri are sustaining healthy occupancies, reflecting the continued growth of faith-led tourism in India.”The hill stations are particularly vulnerable to seasonal challenges but chains such as Leisure Hotels Group, with a considerable exposure to such sites, see a reversal in trend.