HELENA, Mont. -- Officials in Kazakhstan are looking to Yellowstone National Park and their counterparts in Montana as they work to develop tourism focused on national parks at home.

A group of state and local officials from the Central Asian nation along with an entrepreneur and embassy assistant visited Yellowstone last week. They also visited the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman and Spring Meadow State Park near Helena and met with elected officials and business leaders in Helena.

The head of the Tourism and External Affairs Department of East-Kazakhstan, Zhassulan Sarsebayev, (ZAS'-oo-lohn SAR'-say-bey-of) told the Helena Independent Record that the landscapes and environmental conditions in Montana and Kazakhstan are very similar.

The trip was organized by WorldMontana, a non-profit group that works with the U.S. State Department to host international leaders.