Shopping was the next most popular answer in the survey, carried out last month by researchers from Nottingham University Business School.
On a scale of zero to 10, Robin scored an average of 8.2 for visitors and 8.6 for locals in terms of the importance of his links to the city — and most agreed he was a "hero".
Yet tourism experts say neither Nottinghamshire nor Yorkshire, which stakes a rival claim to the legend, has made the most of Robin — despite fighting over his origins.