Chairman of Chiva-Som International Health Resorts,
Krip Rojanastien presents his vision for the wellness industry
In March of this year, I was thrilled to be able to finally return to China after the end of Covid-19 and meet up with many old and new friends of Chiva-Som. It is delightful to be back in the country where I, like most Thai people, have genetic roots. And it is a testament to the resilience of Chinese ancestors that so much of Asia can be traced back to this dynamic nation.
Some of you may know about our flagship property in Thailand, Chiva-Som Hua Hin. Next year, in 2025, we will celebrate 30 years as a pioneer in transformational wellness.
Since 1995, the award-winning Chiva-Som has pioneered transformative wellness practices to global acclaim. Its commitment to an innovative, holistic approach which expertly balances mind, body and spirit continues to this day with its flagship resort Chiva-Som Hua Hin in Thailand, and the latest addition to the Chiva-Som family, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som in Khasooma, Qatar.
Located in Khasooma, a private coastal location to the north of Qatar, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som is a unique wellbeing haven, brought to life two years ago by Qatar’s premier master developers, Msheireb Properties. Qatar’s largest wellness destination, and the Middle East’s first full immersion wellbeing resort. Zulal Wellness Resort is the world’s first contemporary showcase of Traditional Arabic & Islamic Medicine (TAIM) and pays homage to the local culture with traditional local ingredients.
Zulal Wellness Resort also offers a dedicated Family Wellness program, supporting bonding between parents and children via a shared journey to optimal wellness. ‘Zulal’, which is an Arabic word meaning ‘pure natural water,’ offers two venues for health and wellbeing. Adults can access a wide range of therapeutic and lifestyle enhancement treatments based upon TAIM wellness principles in the Zulal Serenity, and Zulal Discovery enables families to enjoy positive wellness experiences together, inspiring young children and their parents with fun, interactive activities that encourage a healthy lifestyle for all family members.
Let’s go back to the topic I want to share. In these 30 years, the Chiva-Som team and I have come to realize that Wellness is more than the absence of illness. It is the process of attaining optimal physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
With that in mind, please allow me to share two of the principles that Chiva-Som is deeply committed to: multi-generational wellness and sustainability.
As we all know, China has undergone enormous transformation over the past 40 years. Included in this change is not only the way the Chinese people thrive, but also suffer.
Non-communicable diseases, known as NCDs, now account for 88.5% of total deaths and contribute to 84.9% of the disease burden in this country (China’s Centre of Disease Control, 2023). NCDs are not passed from person to person, but are the results of poor lifestyle habits – such as smoking, drinking, eating badly, lack of exercise and rest – and toxic environment. Hence the leading causes of death in China are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, lung diseases and diabetes (China’s CDC, 2023).
As of December 2023, the economic burden of NCDs in China was greater than 70% of the total health expenditure, which, in 2022, amounted to CNY 8.5 trillion. 50% of this burden falls on people over 65 years old (Frontiers of Public Health Journal, 2023). Added to this is the rise in age related health issues. Similar to many parts of the world, China is facing an ageing population crisis, with the government statistics showing that China’s population, aged 60 and above, was at about 297 million in 2023, or 21% of the total (Reuters, 2024). Wellness has a place in improving or preventing the fall-out from these grim numbers.
To tackle these challenges head-on, we need to focus on preventing chronic diseases by promoting wellness through healthy lifestyle choices. This not only mitigates the prevalence of NCDs, but also contributes to the increase of a healthier ageing population.
I firmly believe that Family Wellness holds the key to personal, societal and planetary wellbeing. It’s not a grandiose program, but an intimate human-to-human approach that starts in the heart of the home. Well balanced children grow into well balanced adults. Empowered children become empowered adults. Which brings us to our second key principle: sustainability.
At Chiva-Som we have always believed that individual wellness goes hand in hand with planetary wellness. None of us can be truly well in a toxic environment. Hence, we are committed to operating in a responsible way, minimizing waste and carbon footprint, and adhering to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are proud of our sustainability projects, which include mangrove conservation and regeneration, and community outreach to educate and support some of the vulnerable groups in society.
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and also applies to our wellness philosophy, which aims to inspire a sustainable lifestyle that has a real impact on long-term health of not only you, but of Mother Nature herself. For this reason, to us, wellness means family and community support of lifestyle changes, active rehabilitation, and living well, not just longer.
Today I invite each one of you to become active participants in this journey of transformation with us. Whether you seek a deeper connection to individual wellness or the commitment to health on the part of your family, please remember that the impact of sustainable wellness begins with you.
Krip Rojanastien
Mr. Krip Rojanastien is the Chairman and CEO of Chiva-Som International Health Resorts, Thailand’s pioneering and transformative wellness destination. He is the second generation to lead following on from his father, Chiva-Som founder, Mr. Boonchu Rojanastien. In 1996, seeking a change and a healthier lifestyle, Khun Krip began to embrace the core value of the wellness philosophy at Chiva-Som. He made the decision to live according to the sustainable health practices of the resort, with an emphasis on the balance of mind, body and spirit. When his father passed away in 2007, Krip took over the resort, leaving the banking sector where he had spent 22 years of his career without regrets, and threw himself wholly into the wellness doctrine of the business and the operation of the resort.
Like his father, Krip Rojanastien changes himself to fill the role of a health and mindfulness pioneer. He sees the value of environmental preservation and has always supported conservation work, as well as being committed to business operations for sustainability in all aspects of both energy and conservation cultural preservation. In 2004, the Preserve Hua Hin Group was formed under the Royal patronage of HRH Princess Maha Sirindhorn. The Group has driven many environmental sustainability projects in Hua Hin.