MeTaBlue
Messina Taormina Costa Blu — A unified model for sustainable development, from the Blue Coast to Sicily in miniature
DMO
Messina – Taormina
2025 — ongoing
A tourism district between innovation and tradition
MeTaBlue — Messina Taormina Costa Blu is a new Destination Management Organization uniting all municipalities between Giardini Naxos and Messina. The constitutional assembly was held on October 18, 2025, at Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano in Taormina.
The project is the natural evolution of years of work promoting the Costa Blu brand as a mark of excellence, with a vision of a network of municipalities sharing strategies, tools and resources to raise service standards, promote sustainability and build a strong, recognizable and competitive territorial brand.
Prof. Ioppolo, together with Prof. Michele Limosani as scientific coordinator, has been appointed to develop the sustainable local development model guiding the district's strategy.
MeTaBlue DMO constitutional assembly, Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, Taormina (October 2025)
Key Strategies
Tourism Integration
Creating routes and packages connecting coast and hills: cultural, sports, food & wine, and nature tourism.
Sustainable Mobility
Hiking trails, cycling paths, equipped rest areas and sustainable tourism mobility with hybrid electric-hydrogen vehicles.
Territorial Brand
Uniform urban quality standards, Blue Flag certifications and promotion of an internationally recognizable Costa Blu brand.
Presentations and materials
The project in the media
Nasce "METAblue": Messina e Taormina unite per il rilancio turistico
Tempostretto
Costituzione del Distretto Turistico "MeTaBlue – Messina Taormina Costa Blu"
Il Sicilia
Distretto turistico "Messina-Taormina Costa Blu", si parte
SikilyNews
De Luca costituisce il Distretto Turistico Taormina-Messina-Costa Blu
Taormina News 24