After the success of the TV series Chernobyl, tourists have flocked to the city of Pripyat and last year it was estimated that 124,000 people visited the banned zone - a record number.
Ukraine's Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, hopes to increase the number of visitors to one million a year.
It would require renovating the parts of the area that are dilapidated.
He believes that recognition from Unesco could justify such an investment.
- It would make it possible to build roads and create an infrastructure.
It can help preserve the buildings there, create a collective memory and change our attitude to the zone, says Minister of Culture Tkachenko.
Controversial tourist resort
Maksym Polivko, who works as a tourist guide in the forbidden zone, agrees with the Minister of Culture.
- The Chernobyl zone is already today a world-famous attraction.
It attracts tourists to Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the zone currently has no official status.
If it were to get it in the future, it would only be good, says Polivko.
The so-called disaster tourism has previously been criticized for making money on souvenirs from an accident site.
- The zone can and should be open to the public.
But it should not be like going on an adventure to a closed area.
One should leave Chernobyl with a sense of historical awareness, says Tkachenko.
Notice may be delayed until 2023
The UN organization Unesco receives nominations from member countries and assesses the grants based on ten criteria.
At least one of them must be fulfilled - for example, to be a unique example of human development, or to show important steps in the earth's history.
The World Heritage List today includes the pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon National Park.
Ukraine will officially submit its application to Unesco in March next year, and processing is expected to be delayed until 2023.