On 24 September 2024, wellness industry leader Krip Rojanastien, Chairman and CEO of Chiva-Som International Health Resorts, shared his vision for “Multi-Generation Family Wellness and Sustainability” at the 17th annual SpaChina Summit 2024, a key event in the global wellness industry calendar. He was invited to be a VIP speaker by Fifi Kao, Editor-in-Chief of SpaChina and Founder and Director of the event to the 400-strong audience, made up of members of the international wellness community.
Krip spoke about the concept of family wellness and its intrinsic role in living sustainably in all senses of the word, drawing from his own personal experience as the custodian of Chiva-Som, a family legacy that already spans three generations.
Celebrating 30 years in 2025, Chiva-Som has been pioneering a sustainable approach to balancing mind, body and spirit holistically since its inception. Its philosophy is rooted in the belief that wellness and sustainability must go hand in hand. Sustainable wellness means developing healthy lifestyle habits that can be maintained, long-term, for wellbeing and longevity by living mindfully, in tune with nature. It also means working proactively to conserve, preserve, and regenerate the world’s natural environments, and looking after the wider community.
The pressing need to tackle the challenges facing humanity, from food and water inequality and climate change which affect the most vulnerable to the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) caused by air pollution, plastic pollution and unhealthy western lifestyles drives Chiva-Som’s dedication to building wellness and sustainability into the fabric of society for the long-term. Highlighting the need for a cultural shift to address these challenges, Krip shone a light on the importance of early education to firmly re-establish our connection to the natural world, underpinning the symbiosis of planetary and human health.
From nutrition to waste management, to ensuring a healthy ageing global population, education has a key role to play in providing a better world for future generations. In turn, the wellness industry is in a unique position to inspire change, and Chiva-Som is actively promoting a culture of family wellness with the development of the new and unique offering at its newest outpost, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som in Qatar. Launched in 2022 on a beautiful stretch of Qatar’s northern coast in Khasooma, the resort has introduced the idea of sustainable wellness to a whole new community with its dedicated family offering. It is also the first integrated wellness resort to offer Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine (TAIM).
Krip said: ‘Family units that treat ‘good nutrition’ as just ‘nutrition’. Recycling the rubbish with the kids. The sensible use of screen time. Making a post-dinner family walk a regular activity. Building sustainability and wellness into the family’s core values that sink in and get passed on.
Well-balanced children grow into well-balanced adults. Empowered children grow into empowered adults. There must be the recognition of parenting and the reassessment of work ethics, asset accumulation and pursuit of the dollar as the measure of success…. It is crucial that wellness knowledge and understanding be built in the child’s mind during their formative periods and is aimed to last a lifetime’.
Krip’s vision of building a legacy, both within his own family as well as inspiring the next generation of wellness industry champions, is inspired by his father, the founder of Chiva-Som Boonchu Rojanastien, who passed him the reins in 2007. Since that time, Krip has built on the world-class reputation of the flagship resort in Hua Hin, Thailand, to create a global brand focused on sustainable wellness.
Aiming to offer insights to fellow industry leaders with family businesses, Krip told how his own son, Win Rojanastien, is in a leadership role with Chiva-Som having been part of the team for the past six years, learning the ropes from the bottom up, having qualified as an architect in New York. ‘Just as families must manage their growth by thinking well beyond the immediate, so our planet’s future and our children’s future all depend on the legacy we leave behind. The seeds we plant today will provide shelter for the generations we may never see, but that is what we must do’.
The annual SpaChina Wellness Summit is a three-day event for spa professionals, spa owners and investors, and spa product and equipment brands. It provides a unique and effective communication platform for the key industry figures in China’s wellness and spa industry. The associated SpaChina Wellness & Spa Awards recognise the leaders and innovators in China’s wellness and spa industry and help to reward and promote industry quality standards.
