The indoor tanning market continues to be split between those who are enjoying a better-than-expected 2009 and those who are hanging on, the results of the latest SmartTan.com poll suggest.

According to the poll, 51 percent of salon owners say tanning business performance in May met or exceeded expectations, while 49 percent felt business fell short of expectations. Among the half who said their results met or exceeded expectations, 27 percent said they exceeded expectations. The results are not scientific, but continue to be directional.

Smart Tan’s take on the results: An optimistic April may have had some businesses hoping May would be stronger, but — combined with the results of previous polls — the overall trend seems to be continuing that roughly one-third of the market is enjoying a better-than-expected 2009, one-third is getting what they expected, and one-third is performing below expectations. “Although the month-to-month numbers are varying slightly, this overall trend seems pretty solid,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said.