Huntington Beach is taking steps to make a Southern California beach getaway more accessible for travelers with sensory needs and invisible disabilities.
The California destination has become the state’s first to earn Sensory Inclusive Certification from KultureCity, a nonprofit focused on sensory accessibility and acceptance. The initiative, led by Visit Huntington Beach (VHB) in partnership with the City of Huntington Beach, takes a destination-wide approach, bringing together tourism businesses and public safety personnel to create a more supportive visitor experience.
That means the effort extends beyond hotels and attractions. More than 1,538 visitor-facing employees at participating hotels, restaurants, retail businesses and attractions—as well as Huntington Beach lifeguards, police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel—have completed KultureCity’s sensory-inclusive training.
“Accessibility is about more than getting to the beach—it’s about feeling confident and welcomed throughout your entire experience in Huntington Beach,” said John Urdi, President and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, 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.”
A More Inclusive Huntington Beach Experience
Through KultureCity’s certification program, participating frontline employees receive training designed to help them recognize, understand and better support people with sensory needs and invisible disabilities.
The training extends into the public spaces that are central to the Huntington Beach experience, including beaches and community areas, rather than focusing solely on traditional hospitality businesses.
Planning Accessible Travel Before Arrival
The sensory-inclusive initiative also complements Huntington Beach’s ongoing work with Wheel the World, a travel platform for disabled travelers. The partnership, which has been underway for three years, focuses on giving travelers more detailed information about accessibility before they book.
Accessibility features—including step-free entrances, accessible pathways and roll-in showers—have been assessed at nearly 30 Huntington Beach hotels, attractions and venues. The assessments have generated 1,141 accessibility data points that travelers can use to determine whether individual experiences and accommodations meet their needs.
Together, the two initiatives address different parts of the accessible-travel experience: helping travelers understand what to expect before they arrive and creating a more supportive environment once they are there.
For more information, visit surfcityusa.com.
