The growing number of events and attractions springing up in Ireland to mark St Patrick's Day are helping to boost the number of people taking longer breaks in the country.

This is according to Tourism Ireland, which said that Dublin in particular has experienced significant growth in the number of holidaymakers opting to stay for more than a weekend.

Dublin's St Patrick's Day festivities have expanded from a one-day event to a week-long celebration, providing the ideal opportunity for travellers to see more of the city.

"People are increasingly taking longer holidays to Ireland and St Patrick's is a good focus for this, now being a several-day festival," a spokesperson for Tourism Ireland remarked.

Meanwhile, travellers are increasing turning to other destinations - such as Belfast - to mark the Irish holiday, she added.

This year's St Patrick Day's festivities begin today (March 13th), with the official parade taking place on March 17th.

• Dublin to host Lovebox
• Qantas developing new business class services
• Travellers directed to unusual lodgings
• Stansted Airport opens terminal extension
• Etihad experiences busiest day ever
• Singapore Air receives fifth A380
• Australia 'world's number one holiday spot'
• Estonia 'about more than just Tallinn'
• Waterfall installation opens in New York
• Bmi planning more Heathrow to Saudi Arabia flights