About half of tanning facility owners say they intend to purchase or lease new tanning equipment in the next nine months, according to a SmartTan.com poll conducted in June.

According to the poll, 51 percent of tanning businesses say they plan to purchase or lease new tanning equipment in the next nine months. The remaining 49 percent reported no plans to purchase equipment. The poll is not scientific, but is directional.

“This suggests not only optimism in the market for 2011, but also suggests that tanning businesses today are in better long-term fiscal shape than in years past,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “Even in the midst of the current economic downturn, to have more than half of the market in position to engage in major capital investments into their businesses is an encouraging sign for the market.”