Huntington Beach Named California's First Sensory-Inclusive Destination

Huntington Beach has become the first destination in California to earn Sensory Inclusive certification from KultureCity, the nonprofit focused on sensory accessibility, Visit Huntington Beach announced Sept. 17. The certification covers hotels, restaurants, shops, attractions and public safety services across the city.

More than 1,538 visitor-facing employees completed KultureCity's sensory-inclusive training, according to the announcement. Participants included workers at hotels, restaurants, retail businesses and attractions, along with Huntington Beach lifeguards, police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel. The training is designed to help frontline staff recognize, understand and support people with sensory needs and invisible disabilities.

More than 1,538 city employees were trained, including lifeguards, police officers and firefighters.

Jsalatas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Source

The initiative was led by Visit Huntington Beach in partnership with the City of Huntington Beach. "Accessibility is about more than getting to the beach, it's about feeling confident and welcomed throughout your entire experience in Huntington Beach," John Urdi, president and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, said in a press statement. "By bringing together our tourism partners and the City through KultureCity, and providing travelers with verified accessibility information through Wheel the World, we are working toward an experience where more people can enjoy Surf City USA on their own terms."

The certification builds on a three-year partnership between Visit Huntington Beach and Wheel the World, a travel platform for disabled travelers. Through that partnership, accessibility features such as step-free entrances, accessible pathways and roll-in showers have been assessed at nearly 30 Huntington Beach hotels, attractions and venues, producing 1,141 accessibility data points, according to the announcement.

Beach-level measures cited by travel coverage of the program include Mobi-mats, beach wheelchairs, adaptive surfing lessons and accessible bonfires. Together with the sensory-inclusive training, they give Huntington Beach a layered accessibility story that runs from the hotel lobby to the shoreline.

The certification covers hotels, restaurants, shops, attractions and public safety services.

Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Source

"Huntington Beach has always been a place where people come to enjoy and experience our beaches, and we want that opportunity to be available to as many people as possible," city officials said in the announcement. "This is especially meaningful as it benefits not only the millions of people who visit Huntington Beach, but the residents and families who call our community home."

Tourism is one of Huntington Beach's core industries, and the destination-wide certification gives the city's hotels, restaurants and attractions a credential aimed at travelers with sensory needs, a growing segment of the travel market. The certification also covers the public safety workers visitors meet first, from lifeguards on the sand to police and fire crews, a detail that sets the program apart from accessibility efforts focused only on hotels and attractions.