Downtown Bend Visitor Center receives ‘sensory-inclusive’ certification, offering calm, supportive space
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Visit Bend said Wednesday it has partnered with KultureCity, a national nonprofit advancing sensory accessibility and inclusion, to become a certified “Sensory Inclusive” organization at its downtown visitor center.
The organization said that means the Bend Visitor Center is better prepared to serve people with sensory sensitivities and invisible disabilities, including autism, dementia, PTSD, ADHD, and other cognitive or neurological conditions.
Guests who may feel overwhelmed, for example, during busy downtown events can step inside the visitor center at 750 NW Lava Road to find a calm, supportive space, with free equipment to help them reset.
Visit Bend noted that April is Autism Acceptance Month.
It's Bend’s third organization to become KultureCity-certified, joining the High Desert Museum and the Tower Theatre.
To receive certification, Visit Bend staff completed specialized training to recognize and support guests with sensory needs. The welcome center now offers free-to-use sensory bags that include noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, cue cards, and weighted lap pads, along with a relaxing space for visitors who may need a break from overstimulation.
The Bend Visitor Center is also listed on the KultureCity app, allowing travelers to review available accessibility features in advance.
“This partnership reflects our commitment to making sure Bend is welcoming and accessible to all,” said Daniel Elder, Visit Bend’s operations director, who led the certification effort.
“Destination management is about so much more than promoting visitation. It also means making sure the experience works for families, veterans, older adults, and neurodivergent travelers who want to enjoy everything our community has to offer,” Elder added.
Visit Bend said the initiative is part of its broader effort to leverage tourism in ways that strengthen residents’ quality of life while enhancing the visitor experience.
By expanding accessibility, Visit Bend supports inclusive travel, multigenerational trips, and year-round visitation aligned with Bend’s values and long-term sustainability goals.
In March, Visit Bend reinvested nearly $250,000 generated by visitor-paid taxes to help local organizations like Oregon Adaptive Sports, Central Oregon Trail Alliance, Deschutes Trails Coalition, and The Onward Project expand accessibility. That builds on past investments that helped create accessible kayak launches at Miller’s Landing Park and expanded mountain bike access for adaptive riders.
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About Visit Bend
Visit Bend is a nonprofit, non-membership destination-management organization dedicated to stewarding and promoting Bend, Oregon, as a premier year-round destination. Through balanced, sustainable tourism practices, community partnerships, and strategic reinvestment of lodging-tax revenue, Visit Bend works to enhance quality of life, protect our natural assets, and sustain long-term economic vitality.
About KultureCity
KultureCity is a national nonprofit organization recognized for creating sensory-inclusive environments across public venues and destinations. The organization has certified more than 1,000 sensory-inclusive locations in six countries.
