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National Geographic and BBC would send photographers to a place for the sole purpose of taking a photo. Regular people did not do that.

I think TFA does not make this very clear, but it really depends on what "tourist site" is.

In the past nobody went to London to take a picture of a phone booth, but you did take a picture of a phone booth anyway.

You'd go to the Horse Guards spot to take a picture, not to enjoy the horses.

In this sense, regular people do visit a spot just to take a picture, and have always done that.