--- title: Huntington Beach Is California's First Sensory-Inclusive Certified Destination description: Huntington Beach is California's first KultureCity sensory-inclusive certified destination, and what that means for families traveling with sensory needs. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-09-18T10:32:05.157Z updated: 2026-09-18T10:32:05.166Z canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/huntington-beach-sensory-inclusive-certified-destination image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-two-boys-happily-playing-with-sand-on-a-sunny-beach-day-in-l-6230845.jpg categories: Smart Travel content_type: Guide region: United States publication: Rich Travel Magazine schema_type: Article --- Huntington Beach, the Southern California city that brands itself Surf City USA, has become the first destination in California to earn KultureCity Sensory Inclusive Certification. Visit Huntington Beach announced the certification on September 17. Reaching it required more than 1,538 visitor-facing staff, at participating hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions, plus public-safety workers including lifeguards, police officers and firefighters, to complete sensory-inclusive training, the tourism board says. A sunny boardwalk can turn into too much noise, light and crowd in a single moment. That shift can cut a day short for a child on the autism spectrum, or for an adult living with PTSD or dementia. The certification is meant to put trained people in its path: staff who recognize the moment and know how to help rather than hurry a family along. Nearly half of neurodivergent travelers, 49 percent, report a negative experience while traveling, and only 51 percent feel the support on offer meets their needs, according to [Booking.com research published in March 2025](https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-research-highlights-the-more-inclusive-must-haves-for-neurodivergent-travelers/). A separate survey by AutismTravel.com found that 78 percent of autism families are hesitant to travel or visit new places, while 94 percent said they would take more vacations if staff at their destinations were autism-trained and certified. ## Sensory Bags, Quiet Signage and an App That Maps It All KultureCity certification requires continuous staff training, sensory bags stocked with items like noise-canceling headphones and fidget tools, signage that flags what to expect, lap pads, and a listing in [KultureCity's app, which maps certified venues](https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/). The program has certified more than 3,000 locations across the United States and worldwide, and it is built for anyone with sensory needs, not only autistic visitors. KultureCity names military veterans with PTSD and adults with dementia, Parkinson's disease or a history of stroke among the people it is designed to serve. "Creating truly inclusive communities requires education, preparation and action," said Uma Srivastava, executive director of KultureCity. ## Whole-Destination Certification Began in Philadelphia in 2023 Certifying a whole destination is a recent idea: Philadelphia became the first certified Sensory Inclusive City in the United States only in December 2023, working with KultureCity, and Huntington Beach now brings the model to a California beach town. The label is not standardized across the travel industry. A place can carry KultureCity's Sensory Inclusive designation, IBCCES's Autism Certified City designation, or the Autism Travel Club's Autism Ready designation, three separate programs with different criteria, according to the travel magazine AFAR. Myrtle Beach, for one, earned the Autism Travel Club's Autism Ready designation, and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Springs is an IBCCES Certified Autism Center. A certification tells you which program a destination met, not that every destination measured the same things. ## A Family Still Checks the Details Venue by Venue A citywide certification tells a family that staff have been trained and that tools are on hand. It does not promise that any one restaurant, hotel room or attraction will suit a specific child's specific needs. The same Booking.com research points to what individual travelers keep asking for: 76 percent want quiet spaces in airports and hotels, and 64 percent want travel rehearsals, a controlled chance to run through trip scenarios before leaving home. Anyone traveling with a sensory-sensitive child can call a hotel or attraction ahead of a visit and ask where the quiet room is, whether a sensory bag is available on site, and how crowded the boardwalk gets at midday. A KultureCity certification raises the odds that the person on the phone understands the question. It does not replace the call. ## Getting Onto the Sand The certification arrives alongside physical-access work Huntington Beach has done with the accessibility company Wheel the World over the past three years. Together they assessed step-free entrances, accessible pathways and roll-in showers at nearly 30 hotels, attractions and venues, producing 1,141 accessibility data points for trip planning, the tourism board says. On the beach itself, the city offers Mobi-mats, firm rollout mats that lay a stable path across soft sand, along with beach wheelchairs, adaptive surfing lessons and accessible bonfires. Those features give a wheelchair user or an overwhelmed child a stable route from the sand to the water. Visit Huntington Beach says its aim is a place where "more people can enjoy Surf City USA on their own terms," in the words of John Urdi, its president and chief executive. The city's accessible-travel resource is at [AccessibleHB.com](https://www.accessiblehb.com). ## FAQ **Q: Does the certification cover the beach and lifeguards, or only indoor businesses?** Both. Huntington Beach trained public-safety workers, including lifeguards, police officers and firefighters, alongside hotel, restaurant and shop staff, and Visit Huntington Beach says the effort reaches the beaches and public spaces, not only indoor venues. That breadth is what separates a whole-destination certification from a single certified hotel or attraction. **Q: How is sensory-inclusive certification different from physical accessibility?** They address different needs. KultureCity's sensory-inclusive certification trains staff and puts tools like sensory bags and quiet support in place for people with sensory or invisible needs. The separate work Huntington Beach did with Wheel the World maps physical access, such as step-free entrances, accessible pathways and roll-in showers, for people with mobility needs. A destination can have one without the other, so it is worth checking for both. **Q: What is a Mobi-mat or a beach wheelchair?** A Mobi-mat is a firm rollout mat that creates a stable pathway over soft sand so wheelchairs and strollers can reach the shoreline. A beach wheelchair has wide, buoyant wheels designed to move across sand and, in some cases, into shallow water. Huntington Beach offers both, along with adaptive surfing lessons and accessible bonfires. **Q: How do I find sensory-inclusive or autism-friendly places to travel?** Start with the certifying programs' own directories: KultureCity's app maps its certified venues, and IBCCES and the Autism Travel Club list theirs. Confirm which program a destination met, since the standards differ, then contact individual hotels and attractions to check that their accommodations match your family's needs.