Problems and countermeasures in the development of typical water conservancy scenic spots in the upper reaches of the Yellow River

Water conservancy scenic spots have multiple functions, and play an important role in maintaining the safety of water conservancy projects, conserving water sources, protecting ecology, improving the living environment, expanding the business scope of water management units, and even stimulating regional economic and cultural development. Based on the grounded theory, six scenic spots, such as Tanglai Sluice Water Conservancy Scenic Spot, Mingcui Lake Water Conservancy Scenic Spot, and Sand Lake Water Conservancy Scenic Spot, were selected as samples. By integrating questionnaire survey and interview survey, an analysis was conducted on the development status and existing problems of typical water conservancy scenic spots in the upper reaches of the Yellow River from four aspects: scenic spot management, ecological protection, water culture development, and comprehensive benefits. Combined with theories such as human resource management theory and industrial chain theory, this paper proposed corresponding improvement strategies. Results show that sample scenic spots in the upper reaches of the Yellow River generally face problems such as an imbalanced professional structure of personnel and weak publicity. The development of public welfare-oriented scenic spots still faces problems such as insufficient management personnel and a lack of special funding support for operation. The development of operation-oriented scenic spots presents difficulties such as a lack of special funds for public welfare maintenance, serious personnel turnover, insufficient water culture construction, and short industrial chains. The proposed countermeasures include strengthening the development of management and operational personnel, improving investment and financing mechanisms for management and operations, enhancing the publicity and promotion of water conservancy scenic areas, diversifying water culture initiatives, and expanding the industrial chain of water conservancy scenic areas through multiple approaches.