Patricio Tamariz

Executive Director of the Promoting Committee for Manabí – World Region of Gastronomy 2026

Patricio Tamariz, MgTS, is a sustainable tourism and destination-marketing specialist from Manabí, Ecuador. He currently is the Executive Director of the Promoting Committee for Manabí – World Region of Gastronomy 2026, coordinating the five-year plan “Manabí, Bicentenario de una Gastronomía Milenaria”. A former Vice Minister of Tourism Promotion and the first Executive Director of Ecuador’s public-private Tourism Promotion Fund, he has spearheaded award-winning international campaigns, destination governance initiatives, and cross-sector partnerships that have positioned Ecuador on the global tourism map.

With more than three decades of experience, Tamariz has worked across government, private sector, and civil society to strengthen tourism competitiveness, cultural identity, and sustainable community development. Since 2025, recognised as an Expert for IGCAT (International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism), Tamariz has also played a key role in international cooperation projects, promoting Ecuadorian destinations in collaboration with multilateral agencies and global institutions.

A lifelong surfer and advocate of coastal heritage—former Vice President of Ecuador’s first Surfing Association (1990) and now recently appointed Secretary of the Ecuadorian Surf Federation—he bridges gastronomy, ocean culture, and community well-being, advancing IGCAT’s mission to place food at the heart of cultural policy.