SYDNEY ZOO BOLSTERS LEADERSHIP UNDER HAMMONS HOLDINGS AHEAD OF WESTERN SYDNEY TOURISM BOOM

Sydney Zoo has appointed Michelle Rowling as head of marketing and Michael Kelly as CEO as it prepares for major growth under new owner Hammons Holdings. With Western Sydney International Airport opening next year, the zoo is positioning for increased tourism and future expansion opportunities aligned with conservation, visitor experience and regional development ambitions.  

The dual appointments are designed to bolster strategy, visitor engagement and commercial development at a pivotal moment for the zoo, which is preparing for increased tourism flows ahead of the opening of Western Sydney International Airport next year. Industry observers expect the airport to reshape visitor patterns across Sydney, providing direct access for both domestic and international travellers to emerging attractions west of the CBD.

Rowling steps into the role following a four-year tenure at Luna Park Sydney, where she most recently led the destination’s 90th anniversary celebrations throughout 2025, a campaign widely noted within the events and tourism sector for revitalising the park’s heritage identity. Her earlier career spans seven years in executive sales roles at News Corp, five years as marketing manager at Bankstown Sports Club, and time as group account director at McKenzie Partners, giving her a combined track record across media, entertainment, hospitality and brand marketing.

Kelly brings his own deep experience from zoological and cultural institutions. He previously spent eight years as a commercial revenue officer at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, three years as general manager of strategic projects for the National Trust of Queensland, and has served on boards including the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia and the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce. Industry peers say his background gives him unusual insight into balancing conservation priorities with commercial growth and visitor experience design—an increasingly central challenge for modern zoological operators.

In a statement announcing the appointments, David Hammon, group CEO of Hammons Holdings, said Rowling and Kelly embody “proven tourism expertise and their leadership will help shape our long-term vision for conservation, immersive experiences, community connection and unforgettable wildlife moments.” Since acquiring Sydney Zoo in November, Hammons Holdings has been signalling broader ambitions for Western Sydney’s tourism landscape, aligning the zoo with a cluster of future experiences designed to capture the demographic and infrastructural growth of the region.

The family-owned company is currently exploring expansion opportunities including the Western Sydney Parklands Bunagrarribee Tourism Hub, which opened for expressions of interest in September 2025 and aims to establish a cohesive visitor precinct within one of the fastest-growing population corridors in the country. For Sydney Zoo, the timing aligns with growing public sector investment and shifting consumer demand for nature-based recreation and authentic wildlife encounters—areas where the zoo has sought differentiation through modern enclosure design, educational programming and accessibility initiatives.

For Hammons Holdings, best known for operating globally recognised visitor experiences such as Bridge Climb Sydney, the acquisition provides a strategic foothold in the broader tourism ecosystem. With the airport opening expected to transform the regional visitor economy, the group’s leadership argues that Western Sydney is poised to become one of Australia’s most competitive tourism frontiers within the decade. The appointment of Rowling and Kelly suggests the company is preparing to court both locals and international audiences through brand-building, conservation storytelling and product expansion.

While the zoo has not yet publicly detailed new on-site developments or commercial partnerships, tourism analysts note that the combination of aviation infrastructure, population growth and shifting leisure patterns could underpin future investment in wildlife and nature experiences. With planning, construction and marketing timelines already in motion ahead of the airport ribbon-cutting, the new leadership team will be under pressure to deliver a positioning strategy capable of meeting both visitor expectations and the ambitions of its new owners.

As the next phase unfolds, Sydney Zoo’s transformation will be watched closely—not only as a test of Hammons Holdings’ diversification strategy but also as a signal of how Western Sydney’s emerging tourism identity takes shape in the years ahead.