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EgyptAir crash victims mourned as Egypt's tourism industry prepares to take another hit

Marwa Hamdy was returning home after visiting her sister in Paris, her favourite city on the planet, when her plane plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, according to her husband.

Hamdy is one of two Canadian citizens who died Thursday in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, which took off from Paris at at 11:09 p.m. local time and disappeared from radar shortly after entering Egyptian airspace.

"She loved Paris, specifically, I think, because that's where we had our honeymoon in 1997 when we got married," Hamdy's husband, Takreem Mortada el Tanamly, told CBC News. "It was her favourite city."

"She loved, specifically, the area around Sacre-Coeur in Paris. It was very special to her. She just loves to walk around this area."

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'The greatest person I ever met'

Hamdy, 42, was born in Saskatoon to Egyptian parents who were studying in Saskatchewan. She moved to Cairo when she was seven and later studied computer science at the American University in Cairo. Hamdy was a manager at IBM in Cairo.

A dual Canadian-Egyptian citizen, she was the mother of three boys, ages 17, 12 and 10.

"They finally came to accept that their mom has left this world," Tanamly said. "She must be in a better place right now, and they are accepting this fact. They are still feeling a little bit of pain and sadness. Sometimes, they sit down alone and cry."

A service was held at a mosque on Sunday in Cairo, where people who knew Hamdy came to offer condolences to the family.

"I remember my wife as — and I think I told her that during her lifetime — that she was the greatest person I ever met. And I don't think I'll ever meet someone like her."

2nd Canadian on flight was resident of Toronto

The second Canadian on Flight 804 has been identified as Medhat Tanious of Toronto.

​Tanious's niece, who lives in Australia, confirmed her uncle was among the passengers. He was a Canadian citizen travelling on an Egyptian passport.

"He made sure that you always laughed," Viola Nasserallah said of her uncle. "His mission was to make everyone around him cheerful. He had a heart of gold."

The cause of the crash of the Airbus A320 remains unclear. French investigators have confirmed that data sent from the plane to the ground show smoke alarms rang out minutes before the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. But what may have caused a fire on board remains unknown.

Fifty-six passengers, seven crew and three security officers were on Flight 804,

Crash another blow to already battered industry

Egypt's already battered travel industry is fearing the worst following this latest crash.

Last October, a bomb destroyed a Russian passenger plane after it took off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, killing 224 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

Several European countries halted flights to the popular tourist region following the downing of the Russian Metrojet plane.

Canada has been advising its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt, with the exception of the resort region around Sharm el Sheikh and Luxor.

Ashraf Saleh, owner of Safe Way Tours in Cairo, said tour operators in Europe has been regaining some confidence in Egypt over the past two months. Inquiries about travel over the summer holidays were increasing.

But he's worried the crash of the EgyptAir plane will once again hurt the tourism sector in Egypt.

"In one way or another, it will affect tourism here. A lot of European countries seem to be trying to accuse Egypt of failing on the security side," Saleh told CBC News.

Undue scrutiny on Egypt, says tour operator

Saleh said he feels undue criticism is being placed on Egypt. If it was a terrorist act that brought down Flight 804, scrutiny should centre on security officials in Paris, where the flight originated, he said.

"The bombing of the Russian plane affected us directly because it took off from here in Egypt, but the EgyptAir flight was coming from France," Saleh said.

Egypt's vital tourism industry is reeling from five years of political instability following the Arab Spring revolution in 2011 and, more recently, several terrorist acts that have targeted visitors.

Fifteen million visitors came to Egypt in 2010, generating $16 billion. Last year, the number of tourists dropped to 9.5 million, with revenues falling by half to $8 billion.

"I used to depend on foreign tourists for most of my business," Saleh said.

"But now, the foreign tourists don't feel secure in Egypt, so they're staying away."