The southern region of Aseer ended 2025 with 22 licensed private museums, equal with Makkah Region for the highest number in Saudi Arabia and ahead of Riyadh Region with 20 and the Eastern Region with 17, the Ministry of Culture's State of Culture in Saudi Arabia 2025 report shows.

Set up by private collectors keen to safeguard local heritage, the museums display old farming tools, cooking and storage pots, traditional weapons, coins and historical documents, folk costumes and jewellery, and handicraft tools. Their collections reflect how life differed between the Sarawat mountains, the Tihama foothills and the coast, each with its own housing, dress and crafts.

The museums add a distinctive cultural experience for visitors to Aseer alongside its historic sites, heritage villages and folk arts, and could be included in tourism and cultural routes.

Across the Kingdom, the number of licensed private museums reached 118 at the end of 2025, up 19 from 99 at the end of 2024. Aseer accounts for about 18.6% of the national total.

A survey of 39 private museums found that 41% own between 100 and 5,000 pieces and another 41% more than 10,000. Around 60% have no website and 66% have no social media accounts, which the report says highlights the need to build their digital presence, catalogue their holdings and modernise how they are displayed.