Archaeologists and traditional owners are calling for an Indigenous area in Western Australia's north to become the first cultural site in Australia to be nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status.

The Dampier Archipelago contains some of the oldest rock art in the world, in a world where human occupation dates back almost 50,000 years.

As the mining boom winds down and local jobs dry up, tourism is seen by many in the north as a key area of growth.

Local Indigenous tour operator Clinton Walker said the nomination would go a long way to promoting the Pilbara as a tourist destination.

"I think it is a significant step to help my business grow, and any other businesses who want to start up in tourism because it will enable us more support and more recognition," he said.

"It has so much rock art there and history, and we want it to be world-recognised."

Heritage protection 'overdue'

The Archipelago has national heritage protection, however to qualify for World Heritage status a site must satisfy one of 10 criteria set out by the World Heritage Committee.

Archaeologist Jo McDonald has spent the past ten years researching and dating rock carvings both on the Burrup Peninsula and on islands in the Archipelago, with assistance and guidance from rangers from the local Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

She said the area already satisfied four of the requirements.

The Dampier Archipelago contains some of the oldest rock art in the world. ( ABC News )

"It's really overdue that Western Australia, and Australia in fact, had an Indigenous site listed on the World Heritage List (WHL)," she said.

"Australia has a number of WHL places that have been listed for their natural and cultural values. However, we have no Indigenous places that have been recognised for their cultural and scientific values, and this would be one of those locations."

Karratha Mayor Peter Long said a World Heritage listing would be an enormous boost for the local economy.

"It would make us recognised worldwide and would help tourism a great deal," he said.

"There's more than a million petroglyphs [rock carvings] in that region and it's unique along the whole coast in terms of vegetation, so it's got so much opportunity there for us," he said.

The State Government must support any nomination of a site in order for the Federal Government to present it the World Heritage Committee.

In a statement, Environment Minister Albert Jacob did not comment on the possibility of World Heritage nomination, but said he supported current protections in place for the area.