The $300 million handicraft and souvenir industry is not fully exploited by local artisans and entrepreneurs, leaving countless potential job opportunities untapped, Prime Minister Perry Christie lamented yesterday.

Christie said the "fledgling" industry could boost revenue as well as help to plug up the foreign exchange drain brought on by the country's heavy reliance on imports.

His comments came as he addressed a small group of local and Jamaican artisans and handicraft industry stakeholders gathered for a two-day UNESCO handicraft conference at the Wyndham Nassau Resort.

The event was organized to forge linkages between the local handicraft sector and the market in Jamaica.

"We have to understand that it's not good enough to brag and boast about the amount of people we bring to our country, but we also have to understand the economic implications of not establishing strong linkages with the tourism industry," Christie said. "

One of the great challenges with The Bahamas, more so than any other regional country, is the leakage of foreign exchange out of The Bahamas because we are a highly importing country. Therefore it has a major economic consequence."

He said the country must be committed to fostering artist development, training and opportunities to market locally made souvenirs to reduce the import of goods that can be made in The Bahamas.

"When a country spends millions and millions of dollars marketing itself to the world and we bring people into our country as a result of all that marketing money we spend, people are coming in to get a sense of what the country is, who the people are and what they do. "When they buy something they want to take a bit of The Bahamas back with them... we have to find a way to protect the industry as fledgling as it is."

Christie also mentioned his disappointment at the low turnout from local artisans and industry stakeholders at yesterday's conference. He questioned why more talented jewelry and craft makers from the Family Islands who use local products in their goods were not invited to the conference and had their travel expenses subsidized so they could take advantage of the event.

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