The general public find hand dryers slow to use. In addition, if a facility completely replaces its towel dispensers with hand dryers, then people often no longer have access to the towels for things like cleaning up spills, wiping up messes on their body or clothing, etc. Some also may find hand dryers to be too noisy.
There are two distinct classes of paper towels in existence: the "domestic" paper towel, and the "institutional" paper towel. Invented in 1879 by Arthur Scott, the paper towel has ascended to provide a simple and efficient method of cleaning. In the United Kingdom, domestic paper towels are known colloquially as kitchen roll.