Abstract:

Tourism experience is rich with different levels， and the experience obtained by tourists varies with the types of tourism. Existing research lacks in-depth discussion on desert tourism experience. In order to explore the complexity and hierarchical structure of desert tourism experience， this paper， taking Kumutag desert tourism area as an example， constructs the attribute result value correlation matrix， and draws the hierarchical value map of desert tourism area experience by using the means-end chain （MEC） theory， soft ladder interview method， and network text analysis. Through the analysis of six means-end chains， we can find that the most notable chain is MEC1 （natural scenery-relaxing body and mind / novel experience-feeling of satisfaction / good memory）， which fully reflects the unique landscape of desert tourism area， makes tourists broaden their horizons， satisfy their curiosity， and get good memories and satisfaction. The research results not only enrich the study of tourism experience from the perspective of methodology， but also provide enlightenment for the healthy and sustainable development of desert tourism.

Key words: means-end chain, desert tourism, tourism experience, Kumutag desert tourism area