January tanning sales were up compared to 2007 figures, according to an informal straw poll of business owners at tanning conferences throughout North America in January.

Tanning retailers, lotion distributors and lamp manufacturers all reported increases in January sales at distributor meetings and educational conferences nationwide — and cautious optimism seems to be prevailing throughout the industry.

Those findings come on the heels of a Smart Tan survey which also indicated optimism in the market this year. Smart Tan reported Friday that an on-line Smart Tan poll in January indicated optimism in the tanning business community for a rebound in 2008, with 70 percent of business owners surveyed saying they expected 2008 to be a stronger year for them from 2007. Only 13 percent projected a decline this year.

“In the past two weeks Smart Tan has spoken with nearly 2,000 tanning facility owners and operators at regional tanning conferences — there is a strong sense that this season has started off strongly, with January results up around the industry,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “It’s not scientific, but it’s palpable right now. There is appropriate, guarded optimism in spite of what could only be called a challenging economy.”